He’s a legend of his sport — easily one of the best athletes the game has ever seen. At his prime, his worth totaled several million dollars. Too bad he couldn’t spend it — he was a horse, after all.
His owners called him “Big Red,” but to fans he was known as Secretariat. He was the first thoroughbred in 25 years to take the Triple Crown – winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in 1973. During his reign, he managed to set records that still stand today.
Disney’s “Secretariat: The Impossible True Story” features the chestnut-colored colt in a heartfelt feel-good movie about a horse that could. It’s a story about not giving up and having faith and trust — honestly, what do you expect from Disney?
In the film, Secretariat shares the spotlight with his owner, Penny Chenery, who is a housewife turned stable manager. Played by Diane Lane, Chenery takes over Meadow Stables after her father passes away. It is up to her to save the failing horse farm, and she hopes to do so with one promising foal.
So Chenery lives a double life, splitting her time between her family back in Denver and the life of horse racing in Virginia. She takes a chance on a win-hungry retired trainer, played by John Malkovich, who has a thing for overly colorful attire. And she puts her trust into Ron Turcotte, a jockey played by Otto Thorwarth, who is known for pushing his horses to the limit.
“Secretariat” is rated PG and is a family movie, but director Randall Wallace is guilty of laying the sappiness on a little too thick. The expected message of “you can do it if you just try” is painfully obvious. It comes across plainly in every conversation the actors seem to have. It’s a message that doesn’t have to be explicitly thrown in the viewer’s faces — they kind of expect it before the first scene even plays.
Despite being overly emotional, the film shines during the scenes at the racetrack. With great camera work and the help of dramatic music, viewers will find themselves rooting for Secretariat in every race despite already knowing that Secretariat will win the Triple Crown in the end.
