Review

Review Date: 18-October-10
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Just OK

Secretariat (2010)

Sports movies are one of the most overstylized (read "hokey") of genres. When the Disney logo is on a sports movie, the trait is even more evident. So here we have Secretariat, written by Mike Rich (The Rookie) and released by the Mouse House, which strives to inspire with the glory of competition but falls short by being both too predictable and not formulaic enough. The movie is required to put new spin on the genre by the fact that its centerpiece is a titan from sports history and a far cry from an underdog. Despite decades having passed since his heyday in 1973, the great thoroughbred Secretariat still holds track records and is one of only 11 horses ever to win the Triple Crown.

True to form, the movie trots out a series of obstacles for its characters to jump over, but the one doing the jumping is human rather than equine. She is Secretariat's owner, Penny Tweedy (Diane Lane), a horse breeder's daughter who married and moved to Denver to raise four children. Her parents' demise prompts her to return home and take up management of the family stables, which her husband and brother view with disfavor. The business has been losing money, and besides, it is not fit for a wife and mother. The male chauvinism motif is prominent, and I wish the movie made more of its historical context. The clothes evoke the '70s but the atmosphere is contemporary, keyed to a trendy girl-power message. Moments showing how Tweedy's daughter benefits from her example are painfully clunky, and the general presentation of the message strikes a sour note: has so little progress been made in the past 30 years that we are still meant to wonder at a woman succeeding in business?

Indeed, Secretariat is a story about business instead of sport (and a business conducted exclusively by the elite, also rare for a film trying to fit into the genre). With a sure bet in her stable, Tweedy's chief concerns are managerial and financial. She brokers with the big boys, including the richest man in America, and bets the farm (literally) on the belief that "Big Red" will win the Triple Crown. Lane convincingly depicts her take-no-prisoners attitude, although I admit to skepticism that she could motivate the horse by staring deep into his eyes. Inevitably, lady and thoroughbred are surrounded by stock characters who supply down-home simplicity (Nelsan Ellis as the black groom), quirky humor (John Malkovich as the eccentric trainer, Margo Martindale as a genteel friend), or obnoxiousness that begs to be silenced by victory (anyone who questions Tweedy's ability).

Even though Secretariat wins his big races handily, the sight of a gorgeous animal doing what he does best is always worth a few feet of reel. (Which explains why a race horse movie draws me even when I know it will be cheesy.) In one sense the picture holds no surprises: challenges are met and triumphs are achieved by characters large and small. Yet it also holds unwelcome surprises: it is cute in incongruous ways and focuses on a businesswoman instead of an athlete.

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