We watched this disappointing movie last night. We had heard nothing but good things about it and our hopes were high. I would summarize the movie thus, a rebellious, disobedient and ungrateful teenager teams up with a rebellious and ungrateful horse and show the girl's hardworking, caring father how wrong he is. About everything.
Some of the worst aspects of the movie-
- the dialogue which consisted of the girl saying things like, "I hate him" (about her father naturally, "You're not my father anymore." and "He doesn't get it."
- a 26 year old actress who pouts sullenly and fails to act like a 16 she is supposed to be portraying
- a weird dynamic between the girl and her brother which makes them seem more like girlfriend and boyfriend
- consistent disrespect and disobedience
- the scene where the girl is smacking and hitting her father
When the girl is sneaking out of her house to "train the horse" that nearly kills her a few times I suppose we are supposed to think it is noble or at least cute, much like a chaplain reaching out to a lost soul on death row. But would it still be cute if she were sneaking out to meet her boyfriend? Smoke, drink or do drugs? Go to the mall when she tells her parents she is going to the library? Just because this story is about a horse does not or should I say should not ennoble disobedience.
I found this negative review here and thought this line summed things up nicely:
"Flicka" is the iconic story of a teenager and his horse, but now the he is a she, and the horse has been pushed to cameo status. This dreary, endlessly annoying melodrama comes in the guise of a family film matinee alternative, but who wants to pay to see people grow to loathe each other over a horse?
To a man the whole family disliked this movie. Naturally the ending is that the father was wrong and the girl and the horse prevail to show him the error of his ways. Because being a good, caring father is not what it's all about- giving in to what your kids want, even if it will harm them is what it's all about.
2 comments:
Thank you for the warning! My daughter is getting the original Flicka movies for her birthday, but we will stay away from the modern one.
Generally, I think most remakes are bad news.
The only exceptions are some of the very good reproductions of novels by the First Lady (Jane Austin), and herein I was especially pleased with the BBC America's production of "Pride and Prejudice";
the 1990(?) remake of "The Secret Garden" with Kate Maberly (female director - they usually do a good job overall);
and even the two Disney remakes of their "Freaky Friday" and "The Parent Trap", which in my opinion FAR exceeded the originals in entertainment value.
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