Susan Granger’s review of “Flicka” (20th Century-Fox)
Unlike “Lassie,” which reverted to the time frame of the original story, “Flicka” revises and updates the familiar coming-of-age drama to the contemporary American West.
Rebellious 15 year-old Katy McLaughlin (Alison Lohman) is almost flunking out of boarding school until – on summer vacation at her family’s quarter horse ranch in Wyoming – she discovers a wild mustang that she names Flicka. While her parents (Tim McGraw and Maria Bello) voice predictable objections, she’s immediately drawn to the black horse and pleads to be allowed to raise him. Facing the challenges posed by a stubborn father, a mountain lion attack, a bout of pneumonia and posing as a boy in order to win a race at the local rodeo help Katy reach a new level of discipline and maturity.
Adapted by Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner from Mary O’Hara’s 1941 children’s classic “My Friend Flicka” and directed by Michael Mayer (A Home at the End of the World”), it’s formulaic but beautifully photographed by J. Michael Muro (“Open Range”).
While Ms. Lohman is an undeniably talented actress, at age 25, she’s simply too old to be credible as a high school girl. Despite his film debut in “Friday Night Lights,” country music singer TimMcGraw has not learned to relax in front of a camera and Maria Bello (“History of Violence”) appears to be channeling a cheery Martha Stewart on-the-range.
For curious film buffs, the vintage 1943 version starred the late Roddy McDowall. Mary O’Hara wrote two sequels, “Thunderhead, Son of Flicka” and “Green Grass of Wyoming,” which were also subsequently filmed. And there was a 1955-56 TV series. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, it’s a family-friendly 4, appealing particularly to pre-teen girls.
