La leyenda de Moondance Alexander

I found this flick by accident while looking for something else. I saw the cast and decided it was worth a look. I'm not a horse person, and I like some sports movies, and I do like offbeat stories. While I normally like action sometimes I just want to relax and enjoy a good family movie. This would be a great flick for kids on a rainy afternoon, or if you just want to relax and enjoy a sweet story. It has it's flaws but they're not enough to turn me off. Worth a look.

If you've already seen "Black Beauty," "National Velvet" or "My Friend Flicka," you might want to take a pass on "Moondance Alexander," a wan girl-and-her-horse saga that doesn't even have the energy or conviction to rise above its own clichés.

Moondance is a ninth-grade social outcast who finds meaning and purpose in life when she spends the summer taking care of and learning to ride a horse owned by a cantankerous but lovable Pygmalion played by Don Johnson (think of it as an equine version of "My Fair Lady," minus the songs and quality). The first credibility obstacle we have to overcome is accepting the spunky and attractive Moondance as a girl who can't find herself a single friend (well, the two-legged type anyway).

The paint-by-numbers screenplay comes replete with a miraculous horse healing, a bevy of Valley Girl elitists straight out of Central Casting, and a horse-jumping competition that has all the drama and suspense of a Tiddlywinks tournament in Oshkosh.

Ah well, at least the movie boasts, in the person of Kay Panabaker, a young actress with a great deal of charm and potential. And, besides, where else are you going to hear a line like, "Moondance, I want you to take Checkers over to the stables," if not in this film? Surely, that ought to count for something, don't you think?

It's the start of summer. Moondance Alexander (Kay Panabaker) is the school outcast whose yearbook nobody wants to sign. She talks to her father's grave. Her eccentric artist mother Gelsey (Lori Loughlin) doesn't really understand. Then she finds a horse by the side of the road and names him Checkers. The horse is returned to Tumbleweed Stables and the grumpy Dante Longpre (Don Johnson). The horse is actually named Tinkerbell. Moondance exchanges work for riding the horse. All the girls are mean but popular Josh might just like her especially when Josh's dad starts dating Moondance's mom. Moondance thinks Checkers might be a good jumper and enters her into the Bow Valley Classic against all the mean girls.

This is a super sweet unsurprising cliché-filled family movie. I don't necessarily think there's anything wrong with that as long as it's done well. Don Johnson has the grumpy weary guy well in hand. Lori Loughlin could have been more flaky. At least she doesn't really fit the part. It's the super cute Kay Panabaker that makes this work. She's all hyper energy and willful joy. She is spunky enough to fill the whole movie with her energy. She is also a good enough actress to do the emotional moments too.

"Saddle Club" meets "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" and "Bratz", as the prettiest friendless teenage girl in cinema history goes up against her "Queen Bee" nemesis in a local equestrian competition. Throw in a little "Pollyanna" here for good measure as the friendless girl manages to inspire the adults in her town to lead better lives.

Kay Panabaker plays the friendless girl (Moondance Alexander), and Kay is so pretty she makes figure skater turned aspiring actress Sasha Cohen look rather plain by comparison. And Kay is a polished enough actress with enough effortless charm to almost make this film work. Unfortunately she is saddled (pun intended) with one of the worst written scripts you are likely to ever encounter.

The best scenes are those where Panabaker is alone on the screen and the worst are those involving her teenage rivals-the dialog given to these inexperienced cast members is almost surreal in its staggering lameness.

The film is at least one back-story too many as there just isn't time to adequately cover Moondance coping with her father's death, reconciling her mother's new romantic interest, getting flirty with the son of her mother's boyfriend, saving stable owner Donte (Don Johnson) from a wasted life of alcohol abuse, turning her horse Checkers into a competitive jumper, and giving Roscoe P. Coltraine (James Best) a few moments of mild comic relief.

"Moondance Alexander's" target audience of preteen girls and Sasha Cohen fans wasn't enough for it to get a widespread theatrical release but it is available as a direct-to-DVD product. There is nothing original or exciting here but it is a pleasant enough family film. And the dare to be different theme is handled quite nicely.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

This is a naturalistic and realistic movie that shows contemporary young teenage girls as sensitive and strong human beings. There are very few films that do this. Over the last four years, "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" is about the only one that comes to mind.

Parents who want to watch a DVD with children 10-14, who are tired of Disney Punch and Judy, over-the-top, throw-in-the-kitchen-sink, satirical fantasies for kids, will appreciate the calm and gentle approach and atmosphere that this movie creates.

The acting is delightful. Lori Loughlin and Don Johnson shine, and Kay Panabaker glows as Moondance. The writing is believable, and the film moves quickly.

The movie provides smiles, not laughs. If you're looking for laughs, try a T.V. sit-com. If you're looking for warm and endearing, and a feel-good/feel great family film, here it is.