Movie Review: Flicka

FILM REVIEW: FLICKA

By Michael Wilmington

Chicago Tribune Movie Critic

2 stars

"Flicka" is a modernized version of that great sentimental horse movie, 1943's "My Friend Flicka," and it comes with the shiny trappings, high professionalism and glamorous accessories you might expect.

It's a very good-looking film. The cinematography has the usual expensive sheen. And it has a good cast. Alison Lohman, as Katy McLaughlin, is in the old Roddy McDowall role of the kid who loves a horse, and country singer Tim McGraw plays the good but tough dad, Rob McLaughlin, posing against deep skies and singing a new song. There are also lots of picturesque scenes of rodeos and the ranch, helicopter shots of stampeding wild horses, and blue-jeaned westerners stretching their Levis - including Maria Bello as the mom.

Something is missing, though.

In this "Flicka," everything is a little too big, grandiose and commercially beautiful. "My Friend Flicka" was about an unruly little colt who, with the help of her boy owner, became an upstanding equine citizen. This "Flicka" is about a rebellious young Laramie, Wyo., girl who leaves her private school and finds her great love, a wild mustang separated from her herd, an animal Katy wants to turn into her own riding horse.

The first "Flicka," based on Mary O'Hara's novel and made during World War II, was one of those pictures where photogenic animals bond with photogenic youngsters to the delight of generations. And the original "My Friend Flicka" did for horses what 1946's "The Yearling" did for fawns and 1943's "Lassie Come Home" did for collies. The appeal of those movies was timeless, and since we just got a fine new version of "Lassie Come Home" (this year's "Lassie"), it seemed reasonable to expect a good ride from "Flicka" as well.

But "Flicka" is no "Lassie." The writers are the much-filmed Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner (of "Superman IV" and "Star Trek VI"), and even at its best, the movie sounds like a standard Hollywood product in an automatic heartfelt mode. It looks like a collection of country-western videos, even when McGraw is off screen.

McGraw, who had a good acting debut in "Friday Night Lights," tries to summon up paternal sternness, and Lohman is given a somewhat surly character that doesn't suit her. Bello, a terrific actress, is wasted, and Ryan Kwanten, as Katy's brother, Howard, tries to meld contemporary hip-kid attitudes with "The Dukes of Hazzard." As for McGraw's original song, "My Little Girl," I only wish he'd written and sung more of them.

The director of "Flicka," Michael Mayer, is a prize-winning theater director ("Thoroughly Modern Millie" and "A View from the Bridge") who made his movie debut with 2004's Cleveland-to-Greenwich Village sexual drama "A Home at the End of the World." That suggests an entirely different kind of movie than what we see here; even so, it's hard to figure out why "Flicka" seems so shallow, a cliche factory groping for our heartstrings.

"Flicka" received some highly negative publicity when, according to "Variety," two of the company's horses died during the filming. Ultimately, the American Humane Association, while not faulting anyone for negligence, gave it the rating "American Humane monitored the animal action," instead of the usual disclaimer "No animals were harmed." That tends to put a pall on the movie, although the only negligence we see involves the script.

"Flicka"

Directed by Michael Mayer; written by Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner, based on the novel "My Friend Flicka" by Mary O'Hara; photographed by J. Michael Muro; edited by Andrew Marcus; production designed by Sharon Seymour; music by Aaron Zigman; produced by Gil Netter. A Fox 2000 Pictures release; opens Friday, Oct. 20. Running time: 1:34. MPAA rating: PG (some mild language).

Rob McLaughlin - Tim McGraw

Nell McLaughlin - Maria Bello

Katy McLaughlin - Alison Lohman

Howard McLaughlin - Ryan Kwanten

Jack - Danny Pino

Gus - Dallas Roberts