Moondance Alexander

"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.

Kay Panabaker plays a very likable protagonist. This is a good, clean movie about embracing change. Moondance finds a new activity to occupy her summer, while she also copes with her widowed mom getting a boyfriend. And the ranch owner, Dante, comes to accept this girl reopening his life.

You feel really bad for Moondance in the beginning. She is a bullied teenager with no friends. But she remains warm and friendly with people, and finds ways to keep herself busy.

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.

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.

This is your traditional "girl meets horse" story, but its got such a talented cast -- Don and Lori whom I've grown up watching and Kay, who I've watched grow up and of whom am very proud and endeared -- that I had to give it an extra star just for them.

It does a good job, perhaps almost too good, of covering up things that we may not want the children to understand quite yet, but it is also very, very true to the experience of a girl and her first horse. There were scenes I could practically smell the leather of the saddle and the dust and straw of the stables. :)

It's refreshing to see all three in a good, family-oriented film, to see how well all three have been doing, and the film itself may even spark some unexpected conversations with the audience!