Secretariat is based on the true story of the last horse to win the triple crown and the family that raised him. The movie starts off as pretentious as it is preachy. I though after 5 minutes that this looks like the perfect place to take an $8.00 nap. It does come around. The movie is largely saved by the performance of John Malkovich. He plays an eccentric trainer attempting retirement. he is brought on board by the female owner of the horse Penney Chenery (played by Diane Lane). Penney is the no-nonsense matriarch of the family after her mother dies in the opening minutes of the film. Malkovich is the only one in the picture that keeps his performance in check. All the other characters by WAY too far at least once in a while.
This is a films as much about old, white money and it is horse racing. A topic that I do not find all that interesting. I like listening to rich white people bicker about weather or not to sell a seven million dollar horse for a mere six million dollars about as much as I like listening to 20 somethings complain that their parents are trying to control them.
This movie is not a total bust however. I have to give it credit. Sports movies, by their nature, are inherently dramatic. The sport aspect assures that. Who will win? The good team that worked had, paid its dues, learned from its mistakes? Or the bad guys that cheat, take performance enhancing drugs, expect to have things handed to them. Hoosiers, Rudy, Rocky, and The Karate Kid all quickly come to mind. Secretariat manages to infuse excitement and drama into a story where I already knew the ending. I know the horse wins all three races.
The film is extremely sappy though. It is a Disney production and they seem to still abide to the Hayes Code of the 40's & 50's. Not bad deed is left unpunished. They introduce a ridiculous character in the final act to be Secretariat's nemesis. He plays the rival loud mouth trainer.
Except Malkovich (who was as good as I have seen him in a while) all the performances struggle. There would be a great drinking game in this movie. When Miss Chenery finishes a conversation with Mr Chenery and he doesn't say anything, take a shot. You would be plastered half way through. I really began to laugh at it. The actors and directors are mostly to blame for the performances, but the script didn't give them much to work with. In particular I like how they almost halfway try to work in this 60's hippie vibe using one of the Chenery daughters as a catalyst. That is until they realize that the hippies were dirty, drug using, protesters. Disney isn't going to show that. So they give us the hippie movement by way of the Brady Bunch. Comicial.
My kids did seem to enjoy their selves and it had enough moments to keep me awake the entire time so I didn't hate this movie. I will give it a 2/5 stars and hope that Malkovick continues on this path. But I have seen the trailer for R.E.D. Check out the link below for the Secretariat trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKmuvjL2cVw
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