Seabiscuit

Say, Red. Why don’t we talk up some old previews? INTOLERABLE CRUELTY–George Clooney and the Coen Brothers again. Can’t wait. In this one he’s a divorce lawyer who falls for the woman his client is divorcing (Catherine Zeta-Jones). It also stars Geoffrey Rush, Billy Bob Thornton, Cedric The Entertainer and Julia Duffy.

Wait. Julia Duffy? Where the hell has she been for the past, oh, I don’t know, 20 years? Wow. Weird.

I’m all over this one. Sure, the preview doesn’t necessarily make it look like much of a must see, but it’s the Coens! I’m already in line.

MATCHSTICK MEN–I just noticed something: the girl in this (Alison Lohman) looks like Tatum O’Neal. And the doctor looks a bit like Ryan O’Neal. Coincidence? Read the book.

Well, that’s all they got for us, Red. Looks like we gotta get on to the real movie.

Say, would you happen to have a nickel? Baby needs a new pair of shoes.

Back in Depression Era America, the folks of the lower class (their REALLY was no middle class then) needed a hero. They had all of the projects that President Roosevelt was giving them and that was certainly helping, but they needed someone that they could get behind. Someone that they could identify with.

Strangely, that person was a horse.

Now, I’ve never really had much use for horses. I mean, I admire their agility and their beauty and all that, but I’ve just never been interested. Some of you are saying to yourselves, “Wait a minute! This guy keeps talking about how he’s from Texas. He should LOVE horses!” Well, you’ve got that skewed vision of Texas. I’ve never really had any desire to even ride a horse. The only movie horses I’ve really been very concerned with were The Black Stallion (great, creepy movie) and Artax. (Neverending Story, guys. Keep up.)

Looks like I might have to add another horse to that short list.

But this is also the story of the three men who started the legend. Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges) is a millionaire car magnate (introduced the Buick?) who, after a family tragedy involving his truck, decides to get back into horses. He finds a trainer, Tom Smith (Chris Cooper), who uses a gentle hand to get the horses respect and obedience. He’s an ex-cowboy who was made obsolete by barbed wire. When Tom sees Seabiscuit he sees something in the small, rambunctious horse that no one else could see: a spirit that couldn’t be broken by years of abuse. He sees the same thing in Johnny “Red” Pollard (Tobey Maguire) and knows that he and the horse are kindred spirits.

Everything was against them. The horse was small, the jockey was big and neither of them had any kind of discipline. But somehow they managed to win races and capture the imagination of a hurting nation.

But, dude, how’s the movie?

Pretty damn good, actually. All three of the principle actors were great. Chris Cooper may be in line for another Oscar and Tobey may be up for his first. The hurt and despair is palpable with these guys. They’ve both been abused in their different ways and now they’re coming out on top. And William H. Macy nearly steals the show as Tick-Tock McGlaughlin, the sports announcer who helped make Seabiscuit such a household name.

But I guess what everyone is here to see is the horse himself. And the horses (there were 10 total) who play Biscuit were very good. Although I’m not sure that the horse is on screen for long enough at any one time to really see if they are good actors or not. Hell, I could have caught a good performance just by shooting long enough and then editing it all together. So, yeah, I’m not particularly sure what all the fuss was about as far as the horse goes. I just really enjoyed his story.

And that’s what it all boils down to. This was an underdog, er, horse that came out on top when America really needed it. He was maintained by a bunch of outcasts and misfits and turned into a winner, even beating out horses managed by much richer and more knowledgeable folks. But it just goes to show ya: knowledge, money and breeding don’t get you ahead in this world. Heart does.

Of course, the movie has its problems. While Gary Ross uses the same deft, nostalgic hand that he used with Pleasantville, he seems to like to gloss over certain seemingly important aspects of these guys’ lives. Red Pollard was nearly blind and it’s mentioned in two scenes. It seems like it would be turned into a pretty big deal for them to overcome this problem, but it’s forgotten about within about five minutes. No more mention of it. It causes him to lose one race and then it’s never a problem again. Why? Did someone invent corrective surgery? We need to know these things?

And Howard’s first wife (Austinite Valerie Mahaffey) just disappears from his life (we do see her leaving, though, so that’s ok) leaving room for a new wife (played by Elizabeth Banks). She’s in it, but she’s not really very well developed. She just kind of hangs out with all of the boys, but she never really gets to do anything. She’s total window dressing. There’s probably a scene on the cutting room floor with her and Sam, Seabiscuit’s handler (Kingston DuCoeur), talking about how underappreciated they were.

It’s a great movie, though. If you like seeing people overcome adversity to become great, you’ll love this one. It’s amazing that a horse is probably still the biggest sports draw in history. Millions of hurt, hungry and overburdened people tuned in every time he raced. And it’s all because these three men gave a broken horse a chance and were given a chance back.