Accidental Texan

Accidental Texan (formerly titled Chocolate Lizards) is a 2023 American comedy-drama film directed by Mark Lambert Bristol, and starring Thomas Haden Church, Rudy Pankow, Carrie-Anne Moss and Bruce Dern. The is based on the 1999 novel Chocolate Lizards by Cole Thompson.^[3][4]

Accidental Texan
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Mark Lambert Bristol
Screenplay by	Julie B. Denny
Based on	Chocolate Lizards by Cole Thompson
Produced by	Julie B. Denny Melissa Kirkendall Koen Wooten Mark Bristol
Starring	Thomas Haden Church Rudy Pankow Carrie-Anne Moss Bruce Dern
Cinematography	Matthew Wise
Edited by	James K. Crouch
Music by	Carl Thiel Stephen Barber
Distributed by	Roadside Attractions
Release dates	April 29, 2023 (2023-04-29) (Dallas) March 8, 2024 (2024-03-08)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$292,687[1][2]

The film was released in the United States by Roadside Attractions on 8 March 2024.

Premise

When Harvard grad Erwin gets kicked off the set of his first acting gig for leaving his phone on, he flees in his car only to break down deep in Texas oil country. Lacking funds to repair his car, he accepts local driller Merle's offer to work on his site. He then discovers the project is failing and Merle begs him to help by acting as an oil expert leading the project.^[5]

Cast

• Thomas Haden Church as Merle^[6]
• Rudy Pankow as Erwin Vandeveer^[6]
• Carrie-Anne Moss as Faye^[7]
• Bruce Dern as Scheermeyer^[7]
• Brad Leland as Max Dugan
• Julio Cesar Cedillo as Sheriff Nall^[7]

Production

Principal photography began in Austin, Texas on October 13, 2021,^[7] and also took place that month in Bartlett, Texas.^[8]

Release

The film premiered at the Dallas International Film Festival on April 29, 2023.^[9][10]

In January 2024, it was announced that Roadside Attractions acquired North American distribution rights to the film.

Accidental Texan was released theatrically on March 8, 2024.^[11][12]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 50% of 24 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.3/10.^[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[14]

Joe Leydon of Variety wrote: "The next time you hear someone complain that they sure don't make them like they used to, point them in the direction of Accidental Texan, an unapologetically old-fashioned feel-good dramedy that, with a few minor tweaks, could pass as a newly rediscovered family-friendly feature from the mid-1970s".^[15]