Secretariat

Okay, I had a huge crush on the big red horse when I was a child. Who didn't? The horse didn't care about Watergate, inflation, gas prices or Vietnam. The horse just wanted to race-and he was beautiful. I remember well watching the races and cheering him on-we all did. So I was really looking forward to seeing this movie and I came away a little disappointed. When it stuck to the horse-racing world (and indeed, the races themselves), it was quite good. John Malkovich hammed it up (and didn't even try for a French-Canadian accent, so it was all the more baffling when he spit out phrases in French), Diane Lane..well, she looked good. The problem is that the real Penny Chenery Tweedy is far more of a character than this bland movie depiction of one. Did she have a hard time? Yes-being hit with a tax bill of 6.5 million when your Father dies is no picnic. But her horse had won the Derby the year before (poor Riva Ridge, ignored in this movie to make it look like Penny was more of an underdog than she really was). And she has a tremendous sense of humor-just look at anything on YouTube where she's talking about Secretariat-Diane can't match that sense of humor and presence. And as for the horse..well, they had five horse playing him at different stages of his life and I'll say this:they all looked good but not one of them really matched in terms of sheer presence and intelligence. You only had to see Secretariat on TV to know this horse was unlike any other. And what was the religious/Bible reading? You have to quote from the Bible to tell people about horses? A quote from the Bible and singing of a gospel hymn while he's tearing for home the Belmont? What is that? That he was a gift from God? Hmmm. And just to let the film makers know, Penny may have lived happily ever after, but she divorced her unsupportive husband-I don't know how the Christian Right who are trying to claim this movie would feel about that-or her, for that matter. But trust me, when they stick to the horse, it's all good.