Sylvester

When I first saw this movie I would have given anything to own the horse Slyvester. He was an awesome looking gray, but I would have kept him as a western riding horse.

Parents, this movie is not for kids. I got this movie because my girls like horses and I wanted to see Melissa Gilbert in a different role. However, Melissa is no longer the innocent young girl from Little House on the Prairie; gratuitous profanity, sexual references, and frontal nudity during an attempted rape scene disqualify this as a family movie. It's unfortunate because the story line is actually good. Her hard work and dedication bring her to a decision point that will impact the rest of her life. As another review elsewhere wrote: while entirely predictable, and the story of a come-from-nowhere horse and rider may be cliché, the acting is believable and the riding shots are well-done.

As much as people might make fun of the improbability of the story line, it is actually a true story. My mom has seen Charlie and Sylvester, many years ago albeit, at a competition, but they actually exist. I will admit I think it is a bit shaky and "no way" at times and Melissa Gilbert is a REALLY bad rider, it is true. My mom and I watch this movie a lot and though we laugh at the stupid parts, it really has a good story line, was relatively well made. The horse who played Sylvester is exceptional, but sometimes the bad riding skills of Melissa Gilbert draw away from that, but the thing that truly makes this movie amazing is the reminder that it is a true story. I am inspired by the movie and I truly enjoy watching this movie.

I watched this movie before I rode horses, and I thought it was very exciting! Then I watched it years later after having had a few years' experience riding and competing. Though it's an entertaining movie, there are real inaccuracies that come with the riding and competition portions. Some of it is simply bad equitation and performance, but some of it is also the filmmakers not representing the level of competition properly. Also, the time frame used from the idea of training the horse until the competition is ridiculous. As a horse movie, it is definitely not the worst, and for the most part I still enjoyed it, but if you know horses well enough, you will notice the glaring flaws.

PG Movie? There's Dreamer, the Shrek movies, Flushed Away and so forth are all PG movies. If you are looking for a family-friendly horse-related movie keep looking. I sat down to watch this with my 9-year old daughter. We didn't last long. An attempted rape, nudity, constant cursing ... not a PG movie for the average family.

How did this get a PG rating? If there is ever a film that should be re-examined by the ratings board this is it.

Bottom Line: If you don't typically entertain your kids with sexual violence, nudity, and prolonged and continuous cursing (plenty of GDs and so forth) then don't bother with Sylvester.