Accidental Texan

A movie can recover from a bad start, but what really matters is that it finishes strong. If the ending disappoints, people won’t remember it fondly.

Sometimes a movie falters so much in its first few minutes that it can’t recover. That’s what happened with “Accidental Texan.” The opening scene fails to capture the essence of a movie set, making you doubt the director’s understanding of life overall. If a filmmaker can’t portray filmmaking convincingly, it raises questions about their ability to tackle other subjects.

It’s crucial background for the movie’s folksy charm, as it sets the stage for the story. Erwin, played by Rudy Pankow, loses his lead role in a big movie due to a silly mishap involving his phone’s ringtone causing explosions on set.

Erwin’s Prius breaks down on his way back to Los Angeles, leaving him stranded in a quaint small town called Buffalo Gap, Texas. He meets Faye, a diner waitress, who talks about the town’s simple and morally pure lifestyle. Despite planning to leave soon, Erwin ends up staying longer than expected.

Erwin’s background clashes with the conservative rural values of Buffalo Gap, especially represented by Merle Luskey, an independent oilman. Merle embodies the conservative fantasy of being a small business owner while also impacting the environment negatively.

Merle needs Erwin’s Harvard expertise to fix issues with the bank. It’s hard to see a multi-oil rig owner as an underdog, just as it’s hard to believe a movie set would self-destruct over a cell phone. Despite the promising cast, the film’s direction leaves much to be desired.

Faye and Merle share emotional moments while Erwin learns about loyalty and hard work. The sheriff expresses frustration, Bruce Dern appears briefly as an eccentric, and everyone praises rugged independence. Despite attempts at folksy humor and emotional music, the film falls short.

The movie suffers from bad editing, making it hard to follow where scenes are taking place. The script is overly obvious and predictable, as if the writers underestimated the audience’s intelligence.

“Accidental Texan” feels off-key despite its familiar themes. It panders to cultural clichés like sweet tea and Whataburger. Merle claims he’s as smart as Erwin, even though he dropped out of eighth grade to work on his dad’s rig.

It’s uncertain if “Accidental Texan” is genuinely sincere but awkward or just a cynical attempt to appeal to a low-quality film market. Either way, it seems to have found success, ironically mostly in big city theaters.