Search - Possums on DVD

Old fashioned, a bit slow, but good for the family

McGillicutty | The Sooner Nation | 09/20/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Set in the real town of Nowata, Oklahoma. "Possums" tells the story of a hardware store owner (Mac Davis) who's hobby is calling the games of his old high school team on the radio. When the townfolk comes to the conclusion that the team should be disbanded because they haven't scored a point in 13 years, Davis decides to stay on the radio anyway and make up the games, having the Nowata Possums win the state championship. Unfortunately, the real state champs hear about this and challenge the Possums to an actual game. Can the real Possums overcome impossible odds? Will Mac Davis's son come back and help dear ol' dad with coaching the team? Can Mac Davis drink any more root beer without exploding? You'll just have to find out for yourself in this family-friendly film.

I'll admit I'm a bit biased because I live in Oklahoma and have been through Nowata a time or two. Also, I knew someone who was on the production staff and she even makes a cameo in a scene where a high school group is listening to Davis's radio call of the imaginary game. She's on the far left and her hair is so extremely combed-over that you can't see her face....needless to say she's a bit shy.

Anyhoo, "Possums" is an interesting 45 minute film stretched into an hour 'n a half. The sub-plots are very cliched (the distant son, the "big" game, etc.) and the film never convinces you that the Possums imaginary win as state champions has captivated the state of Oklahoma to the degree needed to make you believe that the real coach of the state championship team would drive hundreds of miles out of his way to make the challenge. It didn't help that I saw this film immediately after "Election", a far superior film that handled a similar situation much better.

I will give the film credit for avoiding a completely cliched ending, though. But ultimately "Possums" just doesn't have enough interesting things going on to fill up it's admittedly short running time. Funny thing is, I think this could be the basis for a decent tv sit-com.

Mac Davis is fine as the hardware store owner, but he lacks the overall acting skill needed to pull off a fairly complicated role. Jay Underwood is his distant son who comes back to help the team and also does an okay job. The Mayor (Andrew Prine) is appropriately stuffy, but still likable. The other notable of the cast is former Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer, who plays the head coach of the real state champs. As hard as he tries, he just couldn't deliver the long-winded monologue with any conviction. But hey, he looked great on the sidelines and his legendary status (at least in this state) is secure.

The guy who steals the picture is veteran character actor Dennis Burkley (who usually plays bikers), he spends all day sitting in front of the hardware store with his buddy spinning stories and helping Davis along, a really good performance.

"Possums" is a nice, but ultimately forgettable comedy that's fine for family viewing.

Tidbits:
- The real name of the Nowata football team is the Ironmen.

- Pretty much all the outdoor locations are real. Mac Davis's "hardware store" is located right across the street from the Nowata City council office.

- The back of the VHS version of "Possums" lists Mac Davis's main movie credit as "Dallas North Forty", instead of the actual title "North Dallas Forty". I felt a bit sorry for Mac Davis over this, even though I got a real kick out of it.

- This film won the Heartland Film Festival's "Crystal Heart Award"...whatever that is.

- This film is J. Max Burnett's only credit as writer & director so far. My understanding is that this was his "dream" film.

- The shy young lady I mentioned earlier said that Jay Underwood, in an apparent effort to impress a group of kids on the set, told them that he was the star of "The Boy Who Could Fly". The kids just kept staring at him, obviously having never seen the film and still not impressed.

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