rsimanski (22 May 2012)

Secretariat: Put Your Money on This Horse

If you're looking for a typical boy-, girl-, or man-and-his-horse film,you might be a bit disappointed in Secretariat. The facts of thehorse's incredible Triple Crown wins in 1973 are well-known, and manyof us are old enough to remember them, so the races themselves don'thold as much suspense as the ones in the other films.You'd also be missing the point. This isn't just a typical racing film.There are many good racing scenes in the film, and I found myselfcaught up in the excitement of the Belmont Stakes race even though Iknew that Secretariat won the race. But for the most part, the film isabout Secretariat's impact on the lives of the people closest to himand their families.Diane Lane is outstanding as Penny Chenery, a Denver housewife whoinherits Meadow Farm, a Virginia horse farm, from her father. Two ofher mares are about to give birth to foals sired by a championshiphorse. The millionaire owner of the championship horse wins the pick ofthe foals in a coin toss. Penny knows her horse lineage, loses the cointoss, but winds up with the foal that she wanted in the first place.From the moment that the animal is born, she senses that he is special.Penny becomes devoted to the horse, convinced that he was a champion.She spends most of her time in Virginia, away from her growing family,and misses important events in their lives. The strain on her marriagenearly tears it apart. Her relationship with her brother, Hollis (DylanBaker), who wants her to sell the farm and the horses in order to pay$6 million in estate taxes, is no better. At times it seems her onlyally is the family's long-time secretary, Miss Ham (Margo Martindale),who loves both the family and the horse and wears her emotions on hersleeve. The reviews that I have read have paid far too little attentionto the marvelous performance by Ms. Martindale.Penny hires Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich), a semi-retired trainer witha reputation for losing the big races, to train Secretariat. Lucienwears outlandish hats that clash with the rest of his clothes and oftencause the women to laugh. It seems to be his way of playing a clown.Malkovich brings just the right touch to the role--blunt, outspoken,but never out of control.The business side of thoroughbred racing is not ignored in the film,nor is the difficulty of a woman being accepted into the old-boynetwork that was in control at the time. In order to pay the estatetaxes and still keep the farm, Penny sells breeding rights to asyndicate of monied horse owners. The steep price that she is chargingeach shareholder depends on Secretariat winning the Triple Crown. Hisfailure to do so would lower his value significantly and drive thefamily into bankruptcy.The bond between Penny and Secretariat isn't overplayed, but there isone scene that that brings it out beautifully. It's the beginning ofSecretariat's three-year-old season. Track distances are longer thanthe ones for two-year-olds, and Secretariat's sire had a reputation forfailing to win the longer races. Secretariat places a poor third in thefirst race of the year, a warm-up for the Kentucky Derby. He has beenoff his feed, and a veterinarian discovers that he has an abscessedtooth. Two days before the Derby, he's still off his feed and Lucien isundecided whether to work him out that day.Penny spends a long, silent moment looking Secretariat in the eye. Thehorse returns her stare. They arrive at an unspoken understanding.There will be no workout that day, but tomorrow he will be back on hisnormal feed. Did I buy it? Yes, because I've learned to communicatetelepathically with my cat, and my ex-wife also had that gift.Secretariat goes on to win the Derby and the Preakness. His maincompetitor that year is Sham, who comes in second in both of thoseraces. The Belmont Stakes becomes, in effect, a showdown between thetwo, with only three other horses entered in the race.Somehow, Secretariat seems to understand this. Typically, he stood atthe back of the paddock and started out slowly, behind the rest of thepack, before forcing his way to the front. However, at the BelmontStakes, he jumps out in front at the start and, except for a fewseconds when he and Sham are neck-and-neck, he never relinquishes thelead, eventually winning by an unheard-of 31 lengths. He broke thetrack records in each Triple Crown race and his performance at Belmonthas never been equaled. The fact that the field is not very crowded maybe a factor because it gives him plenty of running room.An interesting change happens to Lucien. As Secretariat starts to winthe races, he dispenses with the dreadful hats and begins to take morepride in himself. At the Belmont Ball before the race, he wears a tux,reaches back to his French-Canadian roots, and speaks to Penny inFrench.Penny's own esteem has grown as well. Even before the Belmont Stakes,she tells herself that she has won her own battle by proving that shecould set and achieve an important goal. At the ball, her family comestogether once again and rallies around her. They realize that she hastaught them an important lesson about perseverance--a lesson that theywill carry with them for the rest of their lives.That, in my opinion, is what the film is really about.

DanFG80 (22 May 2012)

A good film about a great horse

It is a tall order to fully capture the emotive power of Secretariat'sstory, for it is the story of the greatest athlete in history. Thoughthe film falls short, as expected, I like it and am glad it was made.Diane Lane and John Malkovich don't disappoint. Amanda Michalka wasmiscast. She doesn't look the period. Randall Wallace is not withouthis limitations as a director. The modern pappy song at the end of therather ineptly directed Belmont Stakes scene didn't elevate the picturewhatsoever.I would rather have seen more on the ins and outs of horse racing inlieu of what may fairly be described as Disney trappings. Secretariatdeserves a film that is more than just a little better than Seabiscuit.He didn't get it, yet he wasn't disrespected. That's what I'm gettingat here.

(17 May 2012)

A horse is a horse...unless it's Secretariat, of course

One of the hallmarks of great Disney movies is that they can take a timeworn tale and, through fine storytelling skills, draw you in to a degree that you worry that the outcome might be other than what you clearly know from the start. One of the best examples is Walt Disney's Cinderella. Will the mice get the key to the tower up the stairs so Cinderella can escape and try on the slipper before the Duke leaves? Oh no, it's broken! Now what?Secretariat isn't a Disney movie on the level of Cinderella, but it's no less a fairy tale. Most already know the ending, but there is a lot of involvement in the journey to that fateful race. It's inspired by real people and events -- the real Penny Chenery Tweedy even has a cameo -- but the opposing horse owner's snarkiness is apparently exaggerated and there are the customary Hollywood changes to add to the drama.Most folks won't be watching Secretariat for razor-sharp accuracy. Like my son, who knew nothing of this great horse's story yet was compelled by every second of the movie. It's pretty much the old-fashioned Hollywood never-say-die all-seems-lost saga that has clicked since Mickey Rooney was the number one star in the entire world (as he would tell you right now if he were in the room with you or anyone else).Some compared Diane Lane's look to Pat Nixon, but there's more Mad Men's Betty Draper to her in my view. Her dubious yet loving spouse, played by Dylan Walsh, is straight out of the Jon Hamm "bubble" (see 30 Rock). But Lane does a creditable job with cool, quiet strength (she would have been a GREAT Hitchcock blonde). John Malkovich, always the focal point of any of his screen time, plays a crusty but benign (see Network) trainer. Like the film, he's very entertaining. My favorite is Margo Martindale, one of those actresses who can say volumes with her face and no dialogue -- and reminds me a little of Fran Ryan, that Hungry Jack biscuit commercial lady who also used to be on The Doris Day Show and Green Acres.The film is gorgeously mounted, director Randall Wallace and his crew making the most of every inch of the screen space and the locations. But gee whizzies, if you don't have a Blu-Ray player and you'd like to hear his commentary, tough tomatoes, folks.Blu-Ray is very nice, and a film like this really benefits from the enhanced visual and audio qualities that the format provides. Up until recently, consumers have had a choice. If they stuck with standard DVD, they might lose a few bonus features, but largely enjoy the same rights and privileges of those who have Blu-Ray.Now the "haves" are being separated from the "have nots." Those who could not afford or simply did not want to switch to Blu-Ray were denied seeing Destino, Roy E. Disney's dream project, because it was left off the Fantasia/Fantasia 2000 standard DVDs.Now the "have nots" cannot hear a director's commentary on Secretariat, a bonus feature that has nothing to do with a better picture or enhanced sound quality. They are being left out. They do not "count." It may be shrewd marketing, but this sort of thing is not very considerate to those who are still paying hard-earned and very tight money to buy home entertainment, regardless of the format.On another note, Disney owes a debt of gratitude, at least in part, for Craig Ferguson's role in Secretariat's box office success. Ever since the film's release, he's featured a backhanded "tribute" on his late night talk show in which a pantomime horse dances to disco music every time the doorbell rings. It seems silly, but it's good promotional stuff. Ferguson's going to be the voice of Owl in the upcoming Winnie the Pooh feature. Good for him!

Stephanie Zacharek (17 May 2012)

For those looking to, or through, Secretariat for a deeper, more sinister meaning, all I can say is, there are worse places to look for God than in the nostril of a great horse.

Ann Hornaday (17 May 2012)

Director Randall Wallace has achieved the next to impossible, injecting genuine tension and suspense into a narrative we all know the ending to.

Gary Thompson (16 May 2012)

I looked forward to it because I like Diane Lane, but about halfway through Secretariat, I realized that as much as I like her, I really don't like watching her run a horse farm.

RickStarr11 (11 May 2012)

Classic Disney - for better and worse

The Disney brand lives on in "Secretariat", a come-from-behindalmost-all-true story of the famous Triple Crown Winner. The two leadsare great: Secretariat's owner and trainer Diane Lane and JohnMalkovich respectively; James Cromwell is decent and Nelsan Ellis andOtto Thorwarth credible as the stable boy and jockey, but the rest ofthem - particularly the family and friends - you can put in a tub andsail away.The story, of course, is well known; Secretariat turns out to be thegreatest race horse ever (he even makes ESPN's "Top 50 athletes of alltime" the only non-human to do so.) The true-to-the-story twist is thatSecretariat turns out to be the consolation prize of a lost bet, butstill triumphs over all obstacles and odds.Actually, the story is as much about Secretariat's owner, Penny Chenery(Diane Lane) and how she, well, triumphs over all obstacles and odds.Funny, that. While there are some empty moments while the actors are onscreen (the anti-war protests are just dreadful), there aren't when thehorses take over, and the POV filmography at the horses' hooves ispretty darn good. The festivities at the actual Kentucky Derby last aweek and the race is over in two minutes. I wish there was more screentime for the horses here, but at least it's a better balance than that.Disney stays true to Disney rather than conduct fealty to actualhistory, however the changes are not earth shattering, and you willcome away with a fair semblance of the real story, if not a perfectlyaccurate one. A nice tear jerker, very typical for the House of theMouse, but worth the afternoon if you have an interest in a greatsports story, a horse flick, or just like seeing more of JohnMalkovich's quirky side in an otherwise straightforward role.

(10 May 2012)

Met my expectations

The movie starts off with the narrator quoting a horse-related passage from the Book of Job in the Bible and then the narrator ends the movie with another biblical quote. The movie gives a vignette that brings out the ancestry of Secretariat rather well. The movie shows the birth of the colt and then basically skips to Secretariat's first race. The movie shows how the trainer and jockey are selected. The story is about the races, but does a good job with the background stories about the race. The races are exciting even when you know the outcome.Diane Lane does a great job as the owner. Malkovich is very good as the trainer. The family is ok. I thought they could have done more with the family issues, but it works. The movie sets a goal of telling the story of the horse and achieves it. "SeaBiscuit" is a better movie, but when Secretariat absolutely crushes the competition in the Belmont, the desire to stand up and cheer is hard to resist. The movie has some nice scenes. However, it is too squeaky clean. The "hippies" preparing for protests looked like the Brady Bunch. The movie does have some subtle religious overtones. The choice of music being played on the radio and in the play. I'm not sure what message the movie is supposed to have.I enjoyed the movie and if I could I would give it another 1/2 star.

Tony Medley (05 May 2012)

Lane + Malkovich + Secretariat is 2010's triple crown.

Philip Martin (05 May 2012)

...oldstyle Hollywood, family entertainment done at a very high level. It doesn't lay out all the facts and complications, but it's a very honest movie.

(05 May 2012)

Unbelievable

This review is from: Secretariat (DVD) The movie in its self was excellent,BUT,the song they chose for the end of the race was terrible and in my opinion,ruined the ending of the picture.they could have had a much better song like seabiscuit..I don't know what they were thinking..but that's my opinion..I hope you enjoy this film as much as I did.its great.. Starlite

(05 May 2012)

Secretariat

This review is from: Secretariat (DVD) The only problem is it stopped at one place and I had to forward to go on with the movie. I was not happy about that

(01 May 2012)

Edge of your seat race movie

This review is from: Secretariat (Amazon Instant Video) This story is based on a legend horse. WOW! I had no idea an animal could move like that for that long. He really had the racing heart and drive. Such a heartwarming story of a house wife throwing herself into the man's world of horse racing. It's about faith, strength, and dedication. This is a must see film. What a great family movie.

(30 April 2012)

Beautiful

This is a beautiful movie. The animals as well as the scenery are magnificent. The story towards the middle bogs down a bit, but it ranks in the top 25 of all movies centered around animals in our book, and probably in the top 15. This is appropriate entertainment for your entire family.

James Croot (29 April 2012)

This horse-sports-opera boasts all the ingredients for a successful run.

Chris Vognar (29 April 2012)

A finely constructed feel-good movie, gorgeous to look at, suspenseful when it's supposed to be and firmly in control of the sports movie archetypes and tropes that it wields like an experienced jockey using a riding crop.

Andrew Marshall (28 April 2012)

Very enjoyable

I must first confess that I enjoy having a flutter on horse-racing, sothe subject matter of the film is close to my heart. It obviously makesa film far more enjoyable when you have an affinity with the subjectmatter and I certainly thoroughly enjoyed Secretariat. The obviouscomparison in recent times is Sea Biscuit and whilst I probably enjoyedSea Biscuit slightly more than Secretariat there really isn't very muchbetween the films.The film is set in the early 70's and follows the progress ofSecretariat when the daughter (Penny Chenery played by Diane Lane) ofan ageing owner who takes over his horses. The film is very much a feelgood movies as the fledging owner hires an unproven trainer (LucienLaurin - Malkovich) to train the horse.Chenery has a number of obstacles to overcome including sexualprejudice and financial constraints amongst others. The story is basedon real life and I can only conclude the main facts are accurate whichmakes the final part of the movie truly astonishing. Very enjoyablemovie for horse racing fans.

labeckley (27 April 2012)

This movie puts you right in the saddle of one of the greatest racehorses of all time -- a movie the whole family can enjoy.

I have little interest in movies and haven't been to a movie theater inyears, but I did go to see Secretariat because that was such a bigevent for my horse-loving 13 year old self back in the 70's. I lovedthe cinematography of the movie – how it put you right into the racewith one of the most phenomenal horses of the century. I particularlyloved the close-ups while those passages from the Book of Job werebeing recited: "He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: He goeth outto meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear, and is not dismayed Neitherturneth he back from the sword The quiver rattleth against him, Theflashing spear and the javelin He swalloweth the ground with fiercenessand rage…"It really captured the beauty and power of the racehorse—to me, themovie was worth going for those scenes alone.The movie did contain inaccuracies and omissions (for example, I foundit humorous that Pancho Martin, the trainer, was featured as if he wereSham's owner, trading barbs directly with Penny – where were Sham'sowners? And that the movie made it appear that Sham won the WoodMemorial, when Angle Light was the victor, and that the coin toss overSecretariat was presented in a highly simplified manner. However, I dounderstand that Disney had to simplify the story line so as not toconfuse the average viewer (especially after spending 20 minutes tryingto explain to my husband the complexities of the way Secretariat wasactually acquired in the famous coin toss.) To me, it wasn't at all surprising that Disney developed the movie inthe way they did. When I first noticed a movie was coming out aboutSecretariat, my immediate thought was – "What is there to say?" Iwondered what there could be in the story with which a typical Americanmovie goer could identify. This was no story of an underdog who cameout of nowhere; if such an amazing horse was going to come in to being,it happened exactly in the way anyone would expect–a colt with thebloodlines of some of the best Thoroughbreds in the entire world, bredby wealthy people in Kentucky and Virginia. Secretariat was two yearold Horse of the Year, and part of a racing stable that had theprevious years Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner,Riva Ridge. Nosurprises in this story. It was clever to develop the story anglefocusing on his owner, Penny Chenery, and her struggles againstadversity as she brought Secretariat to the races.I was initially no fan of Secretariat's while he was racing--I wasrooting for Sham all through the triple crown races, and at the time,often felt like the only one who wanted Sham to win. I worked at ariding stable in Virginia at the time and it seemed everyone was a hugefan of Secretariat – there was so much hype and excitement over him.All you heard in the media was about the "big red machine" and howinvincible he was. So for me, it was a breath of fresh air to hearabout this horse from California named Sham who could be a worthyopponent for Secretariat. Secretariat seemed too beautiful and perfect,and I resented the fact that everyone was calling him by Man O' War'sold nickname, "Big Red."I admired Sham's tremendous spirit. (Perhaps I was also partial because"Sham" is the name of the Godolphin Arabian in Marguerite Henry'sbooks-- after all, I was 13.) There's been much made in reviews of themovie over how Frank "Pancho" Martin came across as the "bad guy"because of all his boasting about Sham. It is true that he did boastabout Sham, but for those of us who were fans of the horse and wereweary of hearing all the time about "Big Red," it was absolutelydelightful– I for one loved it. The truth is, the real underdog in the Secretariat-Sham competition wasSham. I'm not at all surprised that Pancho's boasting was spun out ofproportion in the movie to make him appear villainous, because themovie-makers had to jump through hoops to make the real underdogsappear like the villains. Let's face it – Sham's owners and trainersmay not have had quite the wealth and connections of Secretariat's team– it's possible you could find a much more riveting "rags to riches"story in Pancho's background than in Penny Chenery's (she was anheiress, after all). Amidst the onslaught of publicity over thesuper-horse Secretariat, to me, Pancho stood like a David againstGoliath passionately defending his own amazing horse. In addition, Sham was racing on the West Coast when the very bestracehorses supposedly raced on the East coast. Sham was not blessedwith Secretariat's charisma or beauty – but he was a kind, extremelygame horse. Though I will admit, even given all that, Sham was not aperfect underdog because he, too, just like Secretariat, was bred atClairborne Farms in Kentucky. Though I was and will always be a fan of Sham, when I saw Secretariatblow the rest of the field away in the Belmont Stakes, winning by 31lengths, I was overcome with a sense of awe at having witnessed a oncein a lifetime demonstration of searing power, speed, and beauty. And Ifell under Secretariat's spell and became a fan of his, as well.I'm glad Disney made this movie -- they did a nice job. It's one thatthe whole family can enjoy.

Amy Biancolli (27 April 2012)

Just how much you enjoy Secretariat, Disney's glossy-coated biopic of the celebrated racehorse, depends in large part on how much you know of his career. If you know zilch, you'll be thrilled.

(27 April 2012)

A FEEL GOOD FILM

A tale about never giving up and the relationships you make along the way. Diane Lane gives a good performance. The Secretariat was a racing horse that won the coveted Triple Crown and was not matched for 25 years. This is definitely a feel good story as the main character deals with financial troubles and has to go on faith. DIALOGUE/CHARACTERS: B; STORY/PLOTTING: B minus; THEMES: B minus to B; OVERALL GRADE: B minus to B. WHEN WATCHED: yesterday.