Secretariat

~~SPOILER ALERT: If you know nothing about the horse, Secretariat, you may just want to rent the movie then read this later. If you are already spoiled to the plot, press forward.~~

One of the blissful events that has occurred over the course of our snow imposed time at home was the opportunity to rent Secretariat.

I missed it in the regular theaters and tried to get my family to the dollar theater to see it but everyone was all "A movie about a horse? No thanks, Mom. I'd rather sit in time-out and eat slugs than go see a movie about a horse." So, we never went.

When I heard the weather forecast was potentially calling for a day off school, I RAN to the Redbox and rented the movie. My line of reasoning was "If my kids are stuck at home and I plug this DVD into the machine, they'll be FORCED to watch this with me."

I was right.*

I'm not a terribly huge fan of horse racing. I've been to the tracks a couple of times, tried to figure out which horses might win, and placed a couple of non-productive bets. But, racing of any sort just isn't that exciting to me.

This movie, though, might have actually given me a new like** for the sport.

Penny Chenery, as portrayed by Diane Lane, is a high-spirited, confident woman. She knew what she wanted, she figured out how to get it, and sheer luck helped her raise an amazing animal.

Diane Lane did a fine job in this role. She was completely believable and, frankly, inspirational, to a degree. If I looked behind the scenes of the story properly, I see her desire to help her father and gain respect in the all-men's world of horse breeding/racing meant she sacrificed a significant amount of time at home with her husband and children. And though I understand pursuing a dream, I had to wonder "Is there any hint of regret in the real Penny?" Interesting food for thought.

John Malkovich, as Secretariat's trainer, was exactly the way I like him: irreverent, quirky, and fun to watch. The kids, especially, thought he was really funny.

The rest of the cast put in solid performances as moons revolving around planets Lane and Malkovich.

The story, if you know anything about the horse, has a predictable ending. But, I still find my voice hoarse*** the next morning, after screaming my head off trying to help that horsey win. This movie reminded me of the emotion of Titanic. But, Secretariat is 180 degrees emotionally opposite: you know the ending will be happy and are simply blown away when he finally crosses the finish line to garner The Triple Crown.

As I mentioned when I wrote the post about The King's Speech, I adore movies that portray real people. I am chomping at the bit through the entire feature just waiting to see where the real people are now and how they are doing.

The ending of this one was bittersweet for me. I'll leave that to your imagination and to the time when you finish the movie and see the biographies of where they are now.

The PG rating was for "brief mild language". I hope I haven't become so in-tune with cursing that it went straight over my head, but, quite honestly, I couldn't tell you WHAT was said that would have been considered mild language. Honestly, I think Disney NEEDED this picture to fall into the "PG" category for most people to give it a fair shake, so they added something, I just don't know WHAT, to the dialogue to move it out of the "G" domain.

I am saddened to see that the Academy has snubbed Secretariat. In a year when every single nominated best actress played a sad and emotionally screwed up person, I would have loved to cheer for Diane Lane. I have less of a beef with the Actor and Picture nominations being Secretariat-less as there are some fine performances and fine films that, frankly, would have beaten Malkovich's acting and this little movie to a pulp.

But, don't let that dissuade you from finding the time to watch this movie. It truly is a story of being decisive, knowing what you want, and finding a way to get it. It provides a rare chance to talk to your age-appropriate kids about chasing their dreams, being persistent, and doing the right thing, at all times and in all places.

Now, go pop some corn and get your booty comfy-cozy and enjoy a little horse action.


*Score one for Mommy!

**Not love.

***Punny, aren't I????