Possums

Now here's a true sleeper. Produced by HSX Films (aren't they the fake stock exchange folks?) and hidden on the back shelves of Blockbuster (except in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the nearest big town to Nowata), this turns out to be a charming and disarming tale of the morale of a city unlike anything we've seen since... well, I don't think I've seen anything like it.

True, Nowata's football team in the movie hasn't scored a touchdown in thirteen years, but hope lives in a few of the townsfolk. Hope does not live in the mayor, though, who rallies to have the football team disbanded and the field replaced by a mega-department store. However, in the puritan heart of one man, the announcer for the team, the spirit of the game will not die. Even once the team is laid to rest, he buys radio air time and announces fictitious games. Only this time, the team is a winner.

It is this aspect of the film - that you are what you believe you are - that endears itself to you. True, the dialogue is stilted, the direction is standard, and the acting is hokey, but you can't help but cheer for a bunch of losers who now have an opportunity to prove that they are winners in spirit.

I watched this film with my 11 year old grandson and we both enjoyed it a lot.

On the surface it is pretty similar to the standard Disney small town saga. There is the bumbling middle aged parent, the high school in-crowd looming over the new boy in town. There's the venal mayor and the greedy developer. There is the standard conflict of generations between father and son. And, of course, there's the cute girl whom the new boy is crazy about but is afraid to ask out.

But as things turn out the bumbling hero doesn't need any magic or duex machina to move things his way. He is quietly persistent, aware of his follies, and knows when to back off. The new kid in town is accepted in short order, both by the town's perennial loser of a football team and by the pretty girl. And wonder of wonders, the female teen love interest is an honest to goodness pretty girl, not some Britney clone.

The plot and writing stumble a bit toward the end but the ending is both satisfying and believable.

I like sports movies. I am not too crazy about actual sports, but I do like the movies, especially when it features an underdog.

I can pretty much guess where this is going to end up, but the journey there was worth it.

One man (Mac Davis ) can't stand the fact that the town disbanded the football team, so he starts calling games where the Possums win. Soon the whole town is cheering.

When he has the team win the State Championship, the real State Champions show up. The game goes as expected and it will take a miracle.

That miracle may come in the form of Greg Coolidge. Or maybe not.

It's a feel good movie the whole family can enjoy.

I had never heard of this movie until seeing it in the $5.50 DVD bin at Wal Mart. Because it's a football movie, it grabbed my attention and the synopsis on the back of the DVD case seemed funny and clever to me, so I bought it! As it turned out, I discovered a rare gem! Made with a largely unknown cast on a phenomenally low budget of $1.4 million, "Possums" apparently got very little theatrical distribution, which is a shame. Hopefully its new DVD release will help it get the attention it deserves.

"Possums" is a family oriented comedy about a colossally inept high school football team, the Nowata Possums, and its eternally optimistic radio commentator, Will Clark (played by Mac Davis). Clark passionately loves the team and never loses his zeal for them despite their embarrassing play. My wife and I both see a lot of myself in that character!

But shortly after completing their 13th consecutive season without a touchdown, Nowata's snobbish mayor, Charlie Lawton (Andrew Prine), attempts to shut down the team. Clark leads a heroic effort to save the Possums, but at a town meeting, residents overwhelmingly side with the mayor and the school's football program is dropped.

The next Autumn, Clark is feeling broken, as if a big piece of his life is missing. To make matters worse, plans are underway to tear down the football field and build a Wal Mart type store there. Clark deals with his broken heart by going into the radio station studio and continuing to broadcast Possums games - even though there are none anymore! People think he's nuts and his wife, Elizabeth (Cynthia Sikes) is furious as he buys radio time to air the fictional games at the expense of their family hardware store.

Evntually Nowata loves Clark's broadcasts, which have exciting finishes that culminate in the Possums winning. But the claims of victory anger the opposing teams, especially state champion Prattville, who challenge the Possums to a real game. Pratville's coach is played by former Dallas Cowboys and Oklahoma University coach Barry Swizter - the only person in the movie other than Davis who I was previously familiar with - who gives a great performance.

The Nowata-Prattville game brings out an interesting sub-plot as Clark attempts to bring in his estranged son, John (Jay Underwood), to coach the Possums.

I was strongly expecting Nowata to win the game and thought that would be a bit too much of a stretch - a team that hasn't scored a touchdown in 14 years and hasn't played a game all season beating the state champions. The ending didn't turn out quite the way I expected but it did give me a warm fuzzy feeling! If you're looking for a good football movie, a heartwarming comedy or some great family entertainment, it's hard to beat "Possums!" 8/10.

A variation on the no-hopers make good theme. When the Possums football team is disbanded because it's never won a game in its entire existence, a fan recreates it in fantasy radio commentaries until, bit by bit, the team rebuilds itself as the pride of the town and takes on local rivals in a final 'shoot-out'. You've seen it all before, but it's done with conviction and real charm.