Flicka

Finally, a family friendly movie with substance and great messages to uplift young people and really everyone! First, I remember reading the book My Friend Flicka, so it brought back such wonderful memories . The beautiful scenery and the photography and filming of it was breathtaking. The Director Michael and his DP and Camera crew did a remarkable job. I had the pleasure to meet Michael Mayer after the premiere tonight, what a nice and outgoing gentleman. Looking forward to seeing more projects directed by Micahl and with hopes to work with him as one of his actors.

What a beautiful sight it was to watch a movie with beautiful horses, and green scenery with beautiful hillsides and mountains from Wyoming......It reaffirmed to me how Wonderful is God who created such beautiful land and animals.

The music composer did a remarkable job. The music really enhances the movie and then the song Tim McGraw wrote, wow! Melodic and meaningful! Tim Surprised me on what a great actor he is too! Everyone ought to go see this movie......Finally something for the kids to see.....No cursing, no bloody killing and violence, no immoral behavior........Finally......Kudos to 20th Century Fox for standing behind this project.

Wishing Flicka to hit big this weekend! Leslie Berger

"Flicka" (2006) bridges several sub-genres, unfortunately it is one of the weakest examples of each. It's a horse movie (the original is better, as are "National Velvet", The Horse Whisperer" and for that matter most episodes of "The Saddle Club" and "Spin & Marty"). It's a "wild mustangs as a metaphor for the changing West" movie ("The Misfits" and "Billy Jack" do it better). It's an overwrought coming of age melodrama (countless other films do this better as well as most of the stuff you find playing on Lifetime).

It's also an Alison Lohman film and in all fairness contains one of her best performances. Lohman is always excellent and in "Flicka" she is given a lot to work with and handles it all quite well. However, the scripting and editing assembly work are so weak that her strong performance (and nice supporting work by Maria Bello and Ryan Kwanten) cannot turn this thing into a high quality film. You might notice that neither the two screenwriters nor the director have been involved in any feature productions since the release of the film.

"Flicka" was a major release (over 2900 theaters in the U.S.) and turned a profit at the box office. I credit shrewd packaging by the film's producers as they focused from inception on insuring that the project would be bankable. They incorporated elements that pre-sold the film beyond its target audience of pre-teen girls. Tim McGraw was cast to bring in his large fan base, Kwanten was counted on to draw a fair number of teenage girls into the multi- plex, and there were so few live action family films in 2006 that it was able to tap into an under-supplied market.

As for Mary O'Hara's beloved children's book (My Friend Flicka-previously adapted into two feature films and a television show, is credited), it would be more accurate to say "inspired by" rather than "adapted from". The original's ten-year-old hero has been changed to a 16-year-old heroine named Katy McLaughlin (Lohman).

I normally rant a bit when an older actress is cast as a teenager but Lohman is the Mary Pickford of her day and with her cute face and freckles still looks physically believable playing a teen. Her new look for the film, long curly hair-dyed dark, makes her look a lot like Kari Russell (insert "very Irish" here). In this remake it's totally Katy's story (in the original the parents had a more central role) and is told from her point-of-view. She even does a short voice-over commentary to begin and close the film. Normally this POV stuff leads to viewer identification and connection, but the scripting and directing works against Lohman and you stay distanced from her character.

Katy is mega-headstrong, uncomfortable and bored at her boarding school but at one with the wilds of her family's horse ranch in Wyoming. Her father is grooming Katy's older brother Howard to eventually take over the ranch, clueless about Howard's desire to escape and about Katy's affinity for the place. She is the chip-off-the-old-block, not her brother.

The title character is a two-year old black mustang mare that is a source of conflict between Katy and her father for most of the film. While the movie looks pretty the thin plot, the poor sequencing, and absence of "genuine" emotion" doesn't add up to a particularly satisfying viewing experience.

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

My daughter and I are avid movie-goers. We both agree that the movie market is over-glutted with CGI animated flicks. We saw both "Over the Hedge," and "The Wild," and they left us cold. We may give "Flushed Away" a chance, only because the guys behind the beloved "Wallace & Gromit films, and "Chicken Run." "Flicka" has it problems, such as a female lead who looks far too old to be in high school, a "brother" who acts likes he is flirting with her more than his on-screen girlfriend! and an impossibly perfect mom, but it still does not disappoint. Of course I read the original "Flicka" book as a child AND remember the old B&W TV series! This movie doesn't even come close, but from the moment the rodeo guy took Flicka away until the end of the movie, my daughter and I were crying buckets! I also think that hunky Tim McGraw was superb, and was jealous of Maria Bello when they did the slow dance!

So many times when writers "update" a movie, they destroy it by changing the heartwarming plot into something colder and more distant. Flicka remains true to the book, even if they made Flicka's owner a girt instead of a boy. Allison Lohman, really deserves credit as the teenage girl with spirit who find Flicka, a similarly spirited mustang. Her mother is Maria Bello (Doctor on ER, owner of Coyote Ugly) and her father is a beardless Tim McGraw (that took a while to get use to). Tim does a surprisingly good job as "Dad," and although its not perfect, he doesn't detract from the movie.

Expect lots of tears - bring lots of tissue.

This is about a teenaged and traumatized young girl named Katy McLaughlin(Alison Lohman). After his boarding school she returns to home along with her lovely mother(Maria Bello) and family . The adolescent tries rehabilitate a wild horse and simultaneously her father(Tim McGraw). She captures it, being gently handled , she tames the wild stallion and names it Flicka. The magnificent horse escapes and Katy is determined effort to find her missing black colt. The father along with his cowboys(Danny Pino) tracks it down and is captured again and sold to a rodeo competition owner. But domineering father over her and brother(Ryan Kwanten) drives them both a renowned Mustang championship, a spectacular rodeo with savage horses.

The story concerns on a rebel teenager and a wild and intelligent horse who comes to be his best friend. The tale gets to capture the qualities about love, sacrifice, friendship and dramatic parents-sons relationship. Although is slow moving at times and some pedestrian, the movie is still effective enough to hold interest and bring a tear or two. Evocative and pleasant musical score by Aaron Zigman and glamorous,stunning cinematography by Michael Muro, reflecting spectacular outdoors. Director Michael Mayer after his impressive directorial debut('At home at the end of the world' with Colin Farrell and Dallas Roberts who plays here a secondary role) directs his second movie, exquisitely filmed and with many precious moments . The picture is a worthwhile treat the whole family can enjoy.

Another films about teens-horses relationship are the following : Tonka(directed by Lewis R. Foster with Sal Mineo), The Black Stallion(1979, Carrol Ballard) and different versions about 'Black Beauty' novel by Anne Sewell, directed by Max Nosseck(1946), filmed by James Hill(1971) with Mark Lester, and adaptation by Caroline Thomson(1994) with Sean Bean, among others.