"Secretariat," the movie

Movie, schmoovie. Just go by the race footage, the clock, and the margins of victory. Or this: A horse racing writer buddy of mine said he asked Charles Hatton his pick for the best horse of all time. Hatton picked Secretariat. Hatton had seen 'em all the way back to Man o'War.

 

I will say, as someone who was four when this happened, the shot of Secretariat coming around the final bend all alone was really awesome.

There was also a good line from someone as Secretariat raced down the stretch: "Don't fall, Ron."

While purists will understandably be insulted by the liberties taken with the source material, I was more insulted by the tidy, everything-is-happy resolution to the tension between Penny and her husband and brother. It was a little too pat and condescending, how they went from threatening to take her to court to her side in about five minutes.

Oh and some of the idiots in the audience cheered when Secretariat won the Derby. It took all I had not to yell "You morons know how this ends, don't you?"

 

If only this movie could achieve the kind of historical accuracy of other 'real' movies.

 

Ebert gave it four stars (although he acknowledges being friends with William Nack):

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101006/REVIEWS/101009986

It seems to be getting good-but-not-great reviews from the other top critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

 

NY Times isn't as kind as Ebert: http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/movies/08secretariat.html?hpw

 

We all like Bill Nack.

It's not his fault this thing is turning out the way it seems to be.

 

To paraphrase Tom Wolfe, when you sign the deal for the movie rights you take the money and say good-bye to work. The book was your work. Take the money and don't think about the movie.

 

Folks, this has been bothering me.

A Lifetime movie often involves murder by a bitchy slut. Or, her husband had 3 wives. Or her teenaged daughter got knocked up by her boyfriend. Kwim?

A Hallmark movie is an extremely clean tearjerker.

A Disney movie involves a triumph.

 

Unless you can arrange in your contract to be able to write the screenplay. And why wouldn't you at least try it?

 

Just got back.

I was shocked to find out Secretariat got into horse racing only after a filly down on the farm dissed him because the other horses didn't want him hanging out in their barn.

But I have to admit the deposition scenes between Big Red (played, in an unbilled role, by Sarah Jessica Parker) and Turcotte had some snappy dialogue.

 

Review in the Toronto Star is pretty positive.

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/article/871771--secretariat-iron-horse

But as he says, "For those who don’t know the back story, a piece of advice: wallow in ignorance and this film will pack an even greater punch|

Globe reviewer was not so kind

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/movies/secretariat-snatching-defeat-from-the-jaws-of-victory/article1747558/

So when the movie climactically reproduces that exhilarating Belmont, the fiction is just a pale shadow of the fact, and the realized myth that lives in our memory dies on the screen.

 

So I guess Meridith Baxter comes out of the mental institution to own one of the horses that Secretariat destroys at the Belmont?