Gus

This drags.

I actually don't mind how silly the premise to 'Gus' is, yet even so it's such a slow and predictable watch. There's a few decent gags spread across the 96 minute run time, but there's so much plainness with everything else. The plot itself is something that feels seen before, across Disney's many high school/sport comedies from these early decades.

As for the cast, Ed Asner is the best performer as Hank Cooper. Don Knotts (Venner) and Tim Conway (Crankcase) are in a film again, following on from 'The Apple Dumpling Gang'; though they aren't a pair here, Tom Bosley (Spinner) teams up with Conway instead. Regardless, none of the three are all that amusing. There are a few other OK but forgettable roles, while the sports commentator bits are way more annoying than they are funny.

Not a production I would recommend, even if you could pick many worse live-action films from this studio to watch.

As others have said, the plot is just totally unreal. But the cast, bless their hearts, play this one straight and before you know it, you're sucked in watching. Tim Conway and Tom Bosley pretty much steal the show--my husband, 6-year-old daughter, and I roll on the floor laughing every time we watch this and it's time for the scenes in the hotel and grocery store. Also, worth mentioning are Bob Crane (as the "Old PepperPot"--a sports announcer who's even more obnoxious than Dick Vitale) and football great Johnny Unitas (who can't get a word in edgewise to do the play-by-play). Oh, yes--Dick Enberg's in this one--it was filmed when he still had hair! This one ends with a little twist, too.

Great viewing for the whole family, or for one of those nights you want to have friends over and just laugh yourself silly. . .

Once I was watching TV late at night and this stupid-looking movie came on. It was Gus. I can't believe movies like this could be actually pitched to an executive, but I guess Disney can never be underestimated. As I began to watch it, I became enthralled: a mule kicks field goals from any distance and never misses. Alas, the mule gets kidnapped before the BIG GAME and he must be retrieved. Boy was I surprised when he was airlifted back onto the field after an unpleasant yet unbelievable scene involving a supermarket. Don Knotts plays a terrible coach too, but Gus steals the show here. If you want to watch a movie that never should have been made, check out Gus.

Gus is yet another of those movies that I feel has been judged too seriously. It's intended to be a football parody, being purposefully made to look goofy and cheesy.

The actors succeed very well at their awkward, funny roles. You may even recognize some of the actors, like Don Knotts and Tim Conway. The jokes are actually funnier than the other reviewers here want to admit, and the theme of the movie - a young man wishing for his parents to be proud of him - is actually quite touching for a comedy. This is a good movie for children to see, with the barest amount of mature content.

People who specialize in nit-picking films, however, will probably not like this movie, however. Two scenes of the film - the second and the last - are filmed almost entirely in slow motion. My guess is that the filmmakers chose to do so just so their film could be 96 minutes long. Also, the effects are admittedly very dated, sometimes purposefully, other times not.

Nevertheless, if all you want is a funny family film, this movie will satisfy all of your wishes. Let your whole family and maybe your mule, if you own one, watch it. Just be sure that no mules are around when a character says, "Oich!"

I saw this movie at theater when I was 6. I made my dad take me at least 3 times because I could not get enough of it. The Supermarket scene is definitely the best scene in the whole film. I always got scared when Tom Bosley fell into the tank of lobsters because it looks so painful when he limps off down the isle with the lobsters hanging off his pants. Overall, this is a fun movie with lots of slapstick. To this day, I still remember the word that was used to get Gus to kick the ball: "Oyage!!" The live-action Disney film is a lost treasure and they just don't make them anymore like they did back in the 60's and 70's.