Summary:
The extraordinary story of the thoroughbred racehorse Seabiscuit – from his
humble beginnings as an underfed, over-worked three-year old to his unlikely
rise and triumphant match-race victory over the triple-crown winner, War
Admiral. A half-blind ex-boxing prize fighter, Red Pollard (Maguire), who became
the horse's jockey and a former "mustang breaker" Wild West
performer called "The Lone Plainsman", Tom Smith (Cooper), who
became the horse's trainer. As the United States struggled through the Great
Depression, people around the country followed with rapt interest of the
Seabiscuit story, leading to his win of the Horse of the Year honors in
1938.
Review:
Inspired by a true story, Seabiscuit races into theaters telling the story
of a down and out race horse who became a nations hero and sign of hope
during the worst years of the Great Depression. Despite receiving rave
reviews from critics nationwide, you won't find one here. Although this
movie does a respectable job at portraying the time period and the jockey
profession at large there is nothing exceptional about this movie. It's like
one of those movies which utilize an uplifting score to make the movie more
inspirational then it actually is. It's not to say that this isn't something
that box office patrons shouldn't check out, but if you enter this movie
with high expectations you might be slightly disappointed.
Tobey Mcguire quickly becoming one of Hollywood's leading men, portrays a
young red head struggling to find an identity and eventually doing what he
was meant to do (a jockey) although he is partially blind.
Jeff Bridges is relatively loveable as Charles Howard, a big-hearted car
dealer - and a natural-born publicity hound - who purchases the beaten-down
colt on the advice of an enigmatic trainer named Tom Smith.
The movie is loosely based on a Laura Hillenbrand's biography of a
Depression-era racehorse named Seabiscuit. This book captivated readers with
its brutal triumph over tragedy storyline and needed little embellishment.
Unfortunately Randy Newman, known for his brillance, delivers an overdone
score which makes the movie play like an Afterschool Disney Special. Also,
the movie does a poor job at conveying the emotions of the time period. The
Great Depression was a very pivotal point in American and World history, but
the magnitude of the depression is never really relayed during the movie. In
one scene you see Jeff Bridges' character refuse to make layoffs at his
company, but this is a scene which was useless in relation to the rest of
the film. The rest of the movie effectively developed his character as a
patriotic nice-guy and the inclusion of this scene really draws away from
the true impact of the Great Depression rather than effectively conveying
the time period.
See this movie if you're a fan of:
Cider House Rules (1999)
Tobey Mcguire (Actor, Spiderman, Cider House Rules, Wonderboys)
Gary Ross (Director/writer, Pleasantville, Big, Mr. Baseball)
Laura Hillenbrand (Biographer of Seabiscuit)
The Horse Whisperer (1998)
The Rookie (2002)
Rudy (1993)
Rocky (1976)
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