Laura Wilson/Sony Pictures Classics
MOVIE REVIEW
12 Mighty Orphans (2021)
Was “12 Mighty Orphans” meant to be so howlingly funny? And doesn’t the fact that it clearly was not make it even funnier? Inspired by true events, we are in the depths of the Depression when Rusty Russell (Luke Wilson, who everyone forgets is from Texas), his wife Juanita (Vinessa Shaw) and their cute little daughter arrive at the Masonic Home in Fort Worth, Texas. Home to 150 orphans and run by Frank Wynn (Wayne Knight, who does everything the part requires with tremendous flair), the only kids that matter are the ones who end up on the fledging football team. Of those 12 boys, only six really have speaking parts, not that it matters who is who: You might as well call them Dashing, Angry, Weedy, Stammers, Peeper and Jolly. There’s also an assistant coach (Martin Sheen) who’s an alcoholic doctor perfectly called Doc and a knowing newspaperman (Rooster McConaughey) even more perfectly called Pop. It’s a damn shame Robert Duvall’s brief cameo part isn’t called Mac, but that would have been ridiculous.
