In what could have been a massive fumble, the octogenarian-led football and friendship comedy “80 for Brady” banal story would have fallen apart if it weren’t for the Hail Mary of lead actors to bump it into at least a fun matinee for an audience that already loves them.

Inspired by a real group of elderly super-fans, the film is led by powerhouse actresses (any of whom I would love to be when I grow up) with a truckload of awards between them, Rita Moreno, Sally Field, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. It centers around the quartet’s firm friendship and their love of the New England Patriots, especially their now-former quarterback, Tom Brady (who portrays himself and also served as a producer).

The predictable script by Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins ekes out some laughs on its own but is elevated immensely by its four leads, all of whom prove that even in their 80s (or 90s and 70s, as both Moreno and Field joke in the film) these ladies still have a lot of game.

Lou (Tomlin) hosts a regular Pats viewing party in 2017 at her home, decked out in the red, white and blue of the team, as well as littered with Brady bobbleheads and figurines. Her besties — Trish, Betty and Maura (Fonda, Field and Moreno, respectively) — are equally obsessed with their Boston boys.

On the night the Patriots win a trip to the Super Bowl to face the Atlanta Falcons, the women decide to try and win tickets to the big game through a giveaway run by a local post-game show (featuring Rob Corddry and Alex Moffat as the commentators).

Once Lou manages to snag four tickets, the group makes its way to Houston, where they find themselves in all sorts of shenanigans, including a football-throwing contest, a hot wing-eating competition hosted by the Mayor of Flavortown himself, Guy Fieri, and taking some high-dose gummies at a swanky party, among a whole lot more.

The basis of the film hangs on the women’s friendship and for about the first three-fourths of the movie, football is more of a backdrop in which we find out about each of their lives and their connections to one another. Lou is a cancer survivor. Maura is a widow still grieving her husband. Trish is a hopeless romantic who always falls in love too quickly.

And Betty is the brilliant former professor who has been a bit too supportive of her husband (Bob Balaban) instead of letting him thrive on his own.

At a certain point though, football takes the driver’s seat, and the movie drags because of it.

Yes, the focus is on their shared love of the game, the quarterback and going to the Super Bowl, but in making that shift, we lose all the personal connection that had been made, no matter how lightly the writers and director Kyle Marvin tried.

There’s also a heavy reliance on suspension of disbelief necessary to enjoy the film. One such instance is so laughable the movie even points out how ludicrous it is — which feels more cringe-worthy than simply silly.

There is a constant stream of cameos throughout that adds doses of laughs, too, but some are played too long and lose their luster quickly, save for Ron Funches as a stadium security guard who definitely knows the movie he’s in.

And then there’s Tom Brady. The movie plays his part way too seriously, instead of bringing him in on the joke. Because he served as a producer, it’s easy to see why this didn’t happen, but early on, it feels like they tried to do so, andit falls apart toward the end of the film.

The movie is shot in a way that felt more like a big-budget streamer than an in-theater release; there are some rather glaring technical tricks being imposed that cheapen the overall look to the movie as well.

What the movie goes on to comment on is incredibly relevant to the leads and would have felt more earnest without Brady pulling focus: As long as you feel like you can still play the game, play it. However, it feels a bit too much like a commercial for the current Tampa Bay quarterback (as well as the NFL as a whole, which feels squidgy).

Even with all of those downsides, a fun film still manages to be delivered. One that has a large focus on friendship, particularly those that have stood the test of time.

There’s also an unacknowledged joke that no one would ever suspect four older women to do the things they do, so they get away with them. In an industry that has too often forgotten that women still exist after 60, it’s wonderful to see Tomlin, Fonda, Field and Moreno show that age is just a number.

On screens this week: “80 for Brady” officially hits theaters this weekend, along with M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller “Knock at the Cabin” and the animated adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s book “The Amazing Maurice.”

“80 for Brady”

98 minutes

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language, some drug content and some suggestive references.

2.5 stars