I don’t even know if children these days are even familiar with the book My Friend Flicka. The world has changed a great deal since I was young, and the days of youth spending time at the library (I was there quite a bit when I was in grade school) seem to be over for the most part, replaced with television, the Internet and video games, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Flicka isn’t forgotten however, and the tale of a boy and his horse is back for a new generation.

Ummmm . . . . but it’s not about a boy and his horse anymore.

The new adaptation of the Mary O’Hara children’s tale has a few changes and some modernization. Let’s face it, where the story left exactly as it was written by in the 1940’s, there really wouldn’t be much of an audience; after all, Westerns really are a thing of the past. Flcika now features 16-year old Katy McGlaughlin (played by Alison Lohman who is actually 27 believe it or not) who has just come home for summer from school to her family’s ranch. She’s missed her family of course, but more than anything, she’s missed the horses and as soon as she can, she’s out riding. Katy has an unexpected encounter with a mountain lion that scares her horse away, but before the worst can happen, she’s saved by stray mustang.

Katy makes it home but urges her father (Tim McGraw) to get rid of the lion and save the horse, but he’s not willing to have some unbridled horse in his herd. However, the horse mixes in with the herd and there’s no choice but to separate it from the others, but Katy is not to go near it. Being far too independent and seeing herself in the horse, she starts trying to tame the horse at the first opportune moment, and little by little, her new horse, Flicka, is starting to come around. It may be too late though as dad has decided to sell the horse to a rodeo and now Katy must try and get her friend back.

I wasn’t exactly pleased about having this film show up. I vaguely recall watching one version years ago (there have been others) and seeing yet another remake is something that wasn’t high on my priority list. I have to be honest here though, and Flicka is actually extremely well-done, and the changes found in this retelling actually do the story quite well. Somewhere over the years, I think the idea of men liking horses has gone away, more or less, and girls really are the ones who enjoy seeing and riding them. Changing the main character from male to female works quite well, and Lohman actually conveys the emotional feelings of her character perfectly. Even McGraw isn’t bad, and I always have my doubts when a musician tries to make their way into the world of acting. But, it has seemed to work out much better than actors trying to become musicians.

The locations of the film add a great deal of beauty in with the horses, a majestic animal in itself, but don’t jump on the next flight to Wyoming expecting to take in the sites. Flicka was actually filmed in LA as well as New Zealand, probably one of the best places these days to find gorgeous scenery. But it’s not just animals and scenery that help the film along, it really is everything. You have a young girl fighting against everything to hold onto the only thing that she can identify with, there’s her older brother (played by Ryan Kwanten) who is more than ready to cast aside his father’s plans of taking over the ranch in favor of going to college and leaving life in Wyoming behind, and the emotions are running high in just about every category in the entire movie.

If you already are familiar with Flicka, either as far as the story or other films are concerned, the one defining moment towards the end isn’t forgotten either. The film of course does have a happy ending, and there were two other novels that followed the original book (no word if there are plans to retell these as well) but the happiness doesn’t come without a brief moment of concern. For those unfamiliar with the story, I won’t give too much away, but you really can’t help but get caught up in the moment and it’s not easy to not feel that strong pull at your heartstrings as concern and despair start to sink in as the film enter the final moments.

For some reason, there have been a lot of people down on this film, but I think that it still stays true to the original, but also has enough changes to reflect the times. The days of the well-behaved youth of the 1940’s and 50’s are long gone, and there are the youth of today are faced with more problems and issues that what any of us ever was. There’s also the fact that during the course of filming, two horses were killed, but don’t let this sway your opinion as, after investigation, it was determined that neither of these was intentional. Accidents can and will happen, and though the death of two horses may be a tragedy, it’s not something that should lessen your enjoyment of the film.

Flicka is yet another of Fox’s double-sided DVD’s. The good thing of course is that both the widescreen and full screen editions of the film are found on one disc, but the bad aspect to this is that the special features are found separately on both sides. Michael Mayer provides commentary for the film, but this is merely the start. There is a collection of deleted scenes from the film, bloopers, a gag reel, and for you McGraw fans, even a music video. It’s not a bad collection of extras, and I honestly didn’t expect to find too much more than what was included.

Disregard any negative publicity that you may have heard about Flicka. While it may be a retelling of the original story, and quite a bit different from what some may have grown up with, it’s still a fantastic vision of a classic story and one that is actually appropriate for every member of the family. Yes, there you have it, a family film that I can actually recommend, and a film that is going to bring a lump into many viewers throats.
 

-mike-
 

Directed by: Michael Mayer   Written by: Mark Rosenthal & Lawrence Konner   Based Upon the Novel by: Mary O'Hara   Cast: Tim McGraw Maria Bello Alison Lohman Ryan Kwanten Daniel Pino Dallas Roberts Kaylee DeFer Jeffrey Nordling Dey Young Nick Searcy

DVD Features: Included Widescreen and Full Screen Versions Audio: English Dolby 5.1, Spanish & French Dolby Surround Commentary w/Michael Mayer Deleted Scenes Bloopers Gag Reel Music Video