Description

Henry David Thoreau wrote, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." The protagonist of "The Mud Bowl," Michael Haggerty, has been plagued his entire life by questions of "What if?" and dogged by "Have to!" He's a good man with a good heart. He's a father and a son, a teacher and a friend. But, he's angry and afraid his life hasn't amounted to much; all because one bad decision a long time ago smashed his biggest dream.

There comes a time in every person’s life when you finally have to grow up and take responsibility for what you’ve become and what you’ve accomplished. You can forgive yourself and affirm that your life is worthwhile … or you can swallow a shotgun. For Michael, that day of epiphany is the 25th anniversary of "The Mud Bowl."

It's been the same each year for the past 25 years. A group of aging high school friends gather on Thanksgiving morning to play "The Mud Bowl." Each year, these "boys of autumn" use the game as an excuse to never grow up. To escape who they are. And what they have become. But this year is destined to be different.

They are all on a collision course with expectations at the crossroads of change. On this one ordinary day, something extraordinary will happen. And they will never be the same.

Two of the players will use the game as a weapon to get even for something that happened twenty-five years before. In their blind quest for revenge, they lose sight of who they are. And, caught in the crossfire of their anger, is their best friend—the person most responsible for sustaining the illusion of this "game."

In a moment of desperate recklessness, all three are involved in a near-fatal accident. While one fights for his life, the other two are forced to closely examine theirs. They all learn that to survive in this random and absurd world, you can only be good for others when you're good for yourself.