Flicka

This story in its original incarnation had some appeal. Coming of age, proving one's self, contact with nature — which in the original story was clearly conflated with confronting wild adolescent hormones. This was also the case of the "girl's" version "National Velvet" filmed immediately after the first, 1943, film of "My Friend Flicka."

Both of those new-sex-as-wild-horse stories were sappy and ordinary on the surface, but solid enough to last, to (almost) become a classics. Now see what has happened here: this fairly simple natural form has been beset upon by wildcats who have shredded it, turning it into the opposite of what it wants to be.

In the original form, the parents are simply dim but good. Everyone in the story is baffled by puberty, and only differ on how to handle it. In this disemboweled version, the girl is simply wild. She was wild before, during and presumably after we see her. Her dumbfounded parents only know how to fight, not to counsel. In the original, at the end is a harmony, a merging of child and beast where the beast is tamed and controllable and the child now empowered.

In this mortally wounded carcass, the girl wants to remain wild. We know she will be promiscuous, live unhappily (probably creating some new unhappy kids) and die. We know she will be sick or wounded but defiant in every event in her life. We know her parents will comply eventually to every request and wonder why they should be so cursed.

What a strange thing to celebrate harmful obstinacy. I suppose it is one legacy of how we sell presidents in the US.

And the cinematography. I found it ordinary in every respect.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Finally, a family friendly movie with substance and great messages to uplift young people and really everyone! First, I remember reading the book My Friend Flicka, so it brought back such wonderful memories . The beautiful scenery and the photography and filming of it was breathtaking. The Director Michael and his DP and Camera crew did a remarkable job. I had the pleasure to meet Michael Mayer after the premiere tonight, what a nice and outgoing gentleman. Looking forward to seeing more projects directed by Micahl and with hopes to work with him as one of his actors.

What a beautiful sight it was to watch a movie with beautiful horses, and green scenery with beautiful hillsides and mountains from Wyoming......It reaffirmed to me how Wonderful is God who created such beautiful land and animals.

The music composer did a remarkable job. The music really enhances the movie and then the song Tim McGraw wrote, wow! Melodic and meaningful! Tim Surprised me on what a great actor he is too! Everyone ought to go see this movie......Finally something for the kids to see.....No cursing, no bloody killing and violence, no immoral behavior........Finally......Kudos to 20th Century Fox for standing behind this project.

Wishing Flicka to hit big this weekend! Leslie Berger

Katy (Lohman) a teenager finds a wild mustang and decides that is her horse and sets out to tame it. Her father (McGraw) doesn't want her to end up on a ranch and wants her to go to college.

Yes, it's corny, sappy and all that. But just like a great big, juicy, cheeseburger sometimes you just "gotta have one." This is good family entertainment and the kids will love it. Everything works, the dialogue, the scenery, the acting, the music and, of course, the horses.

What's not to like when you see a herd of horses running full out over the plains and there are many scenes like that in here as the ranch is a Quarter Horse Ranch. There is something majestic watching those horses run.

The setting is in Wyoming and we get to see some really great scenery and the camera could have lingered longer on this landscape and yet we did not see the Big Sky, something for which Wyoming is famous for as well as Montana. I was once in Wyoming and saw the Big Sky and there is nothing like it. You look at those nearby gigantic, almost touchable, clouds and you know there something special there. And, when you look, you don't have to look up too far. But, sadly, no Big Sky in here. Maybe Flicka 2?

However, as mentioned this is good family fun and I'm getting hungry. Maybe a cheeseburger…….

Violence:No, Sex: No, Nudity: No, Language:No

"Flicka" (2006) bridges several sub-genres, unfortunately it is one of the weakest examples of each. It's a horse movie (the original is better, as are "National Velvet", The Horse Whisperer" and for that matter most episodes of "The Saddle Club" and "Spin & Marty"). It's a "wild mustangs as a metaphor for the changing West" movie ("The Misfits" and "Billy Jack" do it better). It's an overwrought coming of age melodrama (countless other films do this better as well as most of the stuff you find playing on Lifetime).

It's also an Alison Lohman film and in all fairness contains one of her best performances. Lohman is always excellent and in "Flicka" she is given a lot to work with and handles it all quite well. However, the scripting and editing assembly work are so weak that her strong performance (and nice supporting work by Maria Bello and Ryan Kwanten) cannot turn this thing into a high quality film. You might notice that neither the two screenwriters nor the director have been involved in any feature productions since the release of the film.

"Flicka" was a major release (over 2900 theaters in the U.S.) and turned a profit at the box office. I credit shrewd packaging by the film's producers as they focused from inception on insuring that the project would be bankable. They incorporated elements that pre-sold the film beyond its target audience of pre-teen girls. Tim McGraw was cast to bring in his large fan base, Kwanten was counted on to draw a fair number of teenage girls into the multi- plex, and there were so few live action family films in 2006 that it was able to tap into an under-supplied market.

As for Mary O'Hara's beloved children's book (My Friend Flicka-previously adapted into two feature films and a television show, is credited), it would be more accurate to say "inspired by" rather than "adapted from". The original's ten-year-old hero has been changed to a 16-year-old heroine named Katy McLaughlin (Lohman).

I normally rant a bit when an older actress is cast as a teenager but Lohman is the Mary Pickford of her day and with her cute face and freckles still looks physically believable playing a teen. Her new look for the film, long curly hair-dyed dark, makes her look a lot like Kari Russell (insert "very Irish" here). In this remake it's totally Katy's story (in the original the parents had a more central role) and is told from her point-of-view. She even does a short voice-over commentary to begin and close the film. Normally this POV stuff leads to viewer identification and connection, but the scripting and directing works against Lohman and you stay distanced from her character.

Katy is mega-headstrong, uncomfortable and bored at her boarding school but at one with the wilds of her family's horse ranch in Wyoming. Her father is grooming Katy's older brother Howard to eventually take over the ranch, clueless about Howard's desire to escape and about Katy's affinity for the place. She is the chip-off-the-old-block, not her brother.

The title character is a two-year old black mustang mare that is a source of conflict between Katy and her father for most of the film. While the movie looks pretty the thin plot, the poor sequencing, and absence of "genuine" emotion" doesn't add up to a particularly satisfying viewing experience.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Mary O'Hara's novel "My Friend Flicka" is the basis for this wonderful family oriented movie. Directed by Michael Mayer, a man whose work we had admired before, offers a positive view of a Wyoming family that is struggling to make a living out the ranch where they raise horses and the changes that are happening around them.

At the center of the story is Katy McLaughlin, a young woman who is happier being in the family ranch than at the boarding school, where she seems to be out of place. When Katy goes back home after not completing a key exam, she begins to feel like a human being. All the great outdoors are at her finger tips. The horses she loves are also part of her life.

A fearless rider, Katy is surprised one day by a mountain lion who comes near her. A mustang that appears out of nowhere comes to her rescue, attracting Katy's attention. A bond will develop between the young woman and the horse that will prove it to be a mutual love and respect they feel about one another. She names the horse Flicka and becomes her champion when her father feels a mustang doesn't belong in the ranch because what it will do to the other pure bred horses. In the end, the father, as well as the family realize how deep Katy cares for Flicka and the way the horse responds to her.

Alison Lohman, who is seen as Flicka, is an actress that seems a natural no matter what role she is asked to play. Tim McGraw does justice to the father, and lovely Maria Bello is perfect as the mother.

The beautiful cinematography by J. Michael Muro does wonders to create the right atmosphere in which the action is presented. The same can be said for the musical score of Aaron Zigman, which is tuneful and fits well in the picture. There is no doubt Michael Mayer will continue to surprise us in his future projects.

Highly recommended for all families.