That's it. I'm through being serious. It takes too much time. I'm stepping back in time and treating myself to a review I want to write just because I want to write it, because the little kid in me that watched it way too many times all but demands that I review it now. And since no one else has, it is my pleasure to review the masterpiece that is Gus. This should officially make me the first person in history to review Wild Strawberries and a Don Knotts mule-kicking football movie in the same seven day period. If you feel like rewarding me for this feat, leave me a comment - if you want, you can even include your favorite non-animated movie that you watched way too much as a kid. (And for the record, this was only one of about 5 films that I pretty much watched in heavy rotation throughout my childhood. Though I'm not quite sure why. In my little world, Kurt Russell (young) and Don Knotts were the only movie stars there really were.)

Now, a good competent reviewer would go back and re-watch this film before setting down to review it. I am not that reviewer. Besides, somewhere in my mind, the entire film is probably stored scene by scene - don't worry, it's not like I needed the space to remember the three years of college Latin I took or anything. Gus will do just fine by me.

Okay, now, as mfunk75 is prone to say "a review of the movie proper". A summary perhaps? Sure: Don Knotts coaches the California Atoms, a football team that - can you believe it - is going nowhere fast. Even the announcers can barely stand the team (Johnny Unitas and Bob Crane, both in the news a bit as of late - though for vastly different reasons). Naturally, the solution to the team's problems lie in a young Yugoslavian man (living in the shadows of his massively famous and popular Yugoslavian soccer star brother) and his mule, Gus, who can kick 100 yard field goals. Once the owner (Ed Asner!) hears of this phenomenal animal, he brings him and his owner to the US to entertain fans during half-time, in a desperate effort to boost attendance. But, soon, Asner uncovers a loophole in the rule books that somehow allows an animal to play in the games. Gus is soon promoted from half-time entertainment to the team's starting kicker.

As you might have guessed, the Atoms soon start winning all of their games. But there's a catch, Gus will only kick the field goals when his teenage Yugoslavian owner, Andy Petrovic (Gary Grimes, also the teenage boy from Summer of 42, who all but fell off the face of the earth after this film) holds the football for him and says "Oyage, Gus." I have no idea what this word means of course, but it works like a damned charm.

Ah, but you can't have a Disney movie without some dastardly villains whose sole purpose revolves around stopping - by any means possible - this amazing mule. Luckily, Tim Conway and Tom Bosley (oh, Mr. Cunningham, how could you!) have just this in mind with a little help from, you guessed it (or probably didn't) former NFL star Dick Butkis(!), playing the role of...a football player. Once a star for the Atoms, he now plays for their arch-rivals, the predicted champions of the league, who are growing more worried with each Atoms' win. They soon realize that they must stop the mule!

I'm not going to ruin all of the attempted mule sabotage that the two engage in over the latter half of Gus, but suffice to say I thought it all quite hilarious as a youngster. And I'm always there for a movie in which the bad guys get a mule drunk to keep him from kicking 100 yard field goals, or injure his young foreign owner so that the phrase "oyage" is rendered meaningless. Remember, only Andy can get Gus to kick the football. So, with the big game on the line, and Andy trying to get out of the hospital and to the game before it ends - well, kids, it's nail-biting time!

Seriously though (even though I wasn't going to get serious in this review), Gus is an entertaining movie. I can't guarantee you'll get as much out of it as I did way back when, but if you have some time to kill - or kids that want to watch the Pokemon movie again - go out on a limb and rent this one. I mean, just look at the cast, it's almost unreal to me that all of these people were actually in one film - and not in an Ocean's 11 type way, more in a bizarre, surreal way. And for fans of Dick Enberg's hair - well, he plays himself here (as an announcer of the Big Game) and he actually still has some of it left. If nothing else, at least try to catch a few minutes of this ridiculous movie on television if you happen to stumble upon it.

I know there are other Gus fans out there. Show yourselves.

Okay, back to being "serious".



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up to Age 4