Sometimes I feel that we don’t get enough heartwarming films that don’t have any other agenda except to make us feel good! But I was happy to see one this past month that made me believe one can make a good movie without a political agenda. That film is called The Accidental Texan. It was the big film at the Dallas Film Festival back in 2023 but finally gets released in theaters this week. Starring Thomas Hayden Church and Rudy Pankow along with Carrie Ann Moss, the story is about a group of people down on their luck who come together to change their fortunes. Let me first say, I really enjoyed this film. It was funny, inspiring, and a great ode to West Texas especially the oilman who spends his life prospecting. The story centers around an actor who gets his big break and then in instant screws it up and on his way home to New Orleans breaks down in Texas thus becoming The Accidental Texan. He meets Thomas Hayden Church’s character who is a prospector and is lovingly swindled into acting like a Harvard-educated geologist helping the Texas Oil Man find his next big claim that will not only save his business but the small town that he’s from. The main theme of this the main theme is about family and redemption. The now out-of-work actor gets a second chance at acting but this time for a good cause and that’s where the adventure begins.

The best thing about this movie is the great cast. Carrie Ann Moss and Thomas Hayden Church are well-known and always light up the screen. Their characters are both funny and relatable, building this sexual tension that leads to great chemistry. Rudy Pankow is a relatively unknown actor. He is mostly known for the Netflix series The Outer Banks but brings a charisma to the movie that makes you easily connect to his character. The fantastic performances are what make this movie truly worth watching, but it’s a good story as well. It’s an underdog story and who doesn’t like an underdog? As the two main characters are searching for the one big claim that can save everything, they come across an aging farmer played by Bruce Dern who plays the cantankerous “old fart” that you can’t help but love. And I also have to give a shout-out to Brad Leland from Friday Night Lights who plays the scrupulous businessman trying to screw Thomas Hayden Church’s character out of a claim that they desperately need only to line his own pockets as if he really needed the money. The pacing is very good in this movie, it doesn’t feel too long and gets right to the point. No scene is wasted, especially with Thomas Hayden Church who is at his best when concocting some scheme to find the perfect claim. Even the side characters, especially his employees who run his rag are likable and are not wasted talent. While I will not spoil the entire story, especially the motivations of all the characters, you feel for them, and you instantly connect to their motivations. But probably the best part is that this movie is set against the backdrop of West Texas, which has some beautiful scenery even though it may be flat and dusty, this film perfectly captures the sunsets that one can see in West Texas.

Overall, there isn’t anything that I don’t like about this film. Sure, it’s predictable, you know that the characters are going to come to terms with their failures and redeem themselves by the end. Of course, you know that this movie will end on a happy note and that’s okay because it’s the character’s journey that defines the story itself, not necessarily the ending. And when you put that with the great performances by the cast then it makes for a good movie. Yes, good movies can be predictable, but if you have a movie where you’re rooting for the characters…. you’re rooting for the underdog then you’ve connected to the movie which makes it unforgettable. It’s a good movie to see in the theaters even if you just catch a matinee, but is it worth the price of a movie rental? The Accidental Texan is charming in all the right ways that will give you a great feel-good movie and I have to say, it’s almost like they found the perfect cast. You can never go wrong with Thomas Hayden Church. He never disappoints in a movie! Yes, The Accidental Texan is one of those rare feel-good movies that seems to do everything right and doesn’t take too long to get to the point while having us find inspiration in those underdog characters that make us want to be better or try harder. It’s a great little film that doesn’t disappoint!