Director Mayer knows how to tug at the heartstrings, and his admirably restrained cast keeps the family drama from becoming too sugary.
Flicka (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:75
Fresh:40
Rotten:35
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: The rebellious protagonist will rally girls and children, but adults may find Flicka saddled with thin characters, over-the-top dialogue, and a plot that wanders into the countryside and never comes back.
Theatrical Release:Oct 20, 2006 Wide
Box Office: $20,949,649
Synopsis: In FLICKA, a contemporary motion picture adaptation of Mary O'Hara's beloved novel My Friend Flicka, 16-year-old Katy McLaughlin (Alison Lohman) dreams of fulfilling her family legacy by working on... In FLICKA, a contemporary motion picture adaptation of Mary O'Hara's beloved novel My Friend Flicka, 16-year-old Katy McLaughlin (Alison Lohman) dreams of fulfilling her family legacy by working on her father's ranch in modern-day Wyoming. But Katy's father (Tim McGraw) wants more for her, insisting that Katy go to college. Katy finds a wild mustang, which she names Flicka, and sets out to make her a riding horse. But Flicka and Katy are more alike than she could have imagined. Like Katy, Flicka has a disdain for authority and is not about to give up her freedom without a fight. The principal character in the book and in its two motion picture incarnations was an adolescent boy. But this new version tells the story through the eyes of headstrong Katy McLaughlin. Katy is enrolled in a private school on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming, but her heart is with her sprawling family ranch in the state's remote mountain region. Katy returns home to the ranch, and soon becomes enamored of a wild mustang filly she finds in the mountain woods. She names the long-legged, ebony horse Flicka, or "beautiful young girl," in Swedish. But Katy's rancher father, the equally-willful Rob, sees nothing but trouble coming from the untamed animal and discourages his daughter from keeping her. Nonetheless, conflicted by a need to harness her own wild ways yet stay true to a free spirit within, Katy sets out to break through to Flicka and transform her into a riding horse. Despite her father's disapproval, Katy goes on and forms an unbreakable bond with the wild horse. Her relationship with Flicka becomes a catalyst for change for the entire McLaughlin family, which is at a major crossroads: Katy's dad is considering selling the ailing ranch, brother Howard (RYAN KWANTEN) wants to leave Wyoming for college in Boston, and her mother Nell (MARIA BELLO) is fighting to keep her family from falling apart. Can Katy ultimately tame her beloved Flicka and prove everyone wrong about the wild-hearted mustang? Will Rob find a way to support his daughter yet still keep her safe through this momentous life passage? And can the McLaughlins hold onto the ranch that they've worked so hard to maintain throughout a sea of social and economic change? -- © 20th Century Fox [More]
Starring: Alison Lohman, Maria Bello, Dallas Roberts, Tim McGraw
Starring: Alison Lohman, Maria Bello, Dallas Roberts, Tim McGraw, Ryan Kwanten, Danny Pino, Jeffrey Nordling, Kaylee DeFer, Dey Young
Director: Michael Mayer
Director: Michael Mayer
Screenwriter: Laurence Konner, Mark Rosenthal
Composer: Aaron Zigman
Studio: 20th Century Fox
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Release:
Jun 16, 2009
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- NTSC
- Keep Case
- Dual Side
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
- Dolby Digital Surround - French, Spanish
- Subtitles - English, Spanish - Optional
- Disc 1/Side A: FLICKA - Full Frame
- Full Frame - 1.33
- Disc 1/Side B: FLICKA - Widescreen
Additional Release Material:
- Alternate Scenes: Deleted Scenes (3)
- Behind the Scenes: Making of Featurette
- Music Video: Tim McGraw - "My Little Girl"
Outtakes:
- 1. Bloopers
- 2. Gag Reel
Trailers:
- 1. Product Trailers - Music Promo
- 2. Previews
Reviews for Flicka
Breathtaking scenery and the sweet story of a girl, her dad and a special horse make Flicka a worthwhile family flick.
Sentimental but not cloying, Flicka is family-friendly entertainment that hits almost all the right notes, even though it is playing the same old song.
The latest version of this beloved kid-loves-horse story has everything a film requires to attract an equine-crazy audience of all ages.
Alison Lohman, the 27-year-old actress who plays Katy, makes the whole thing worth watching.
As things progress, the magic of the story asserts itself over the audience.
You can't go wrong with this plot: Girl meets pony, girl loses pony, girl gets pony back. There are problems, but they all live happily ever after, that's boilerplate. But so what?
I doubt... that Mayer, who fills the film with many unexpectedly lovely, lyrical moments, would have chosen to set Flicka's wrenching emotional centerpiece to a hideously maudlin, ear-piercing country song.
An engrossing and beautifully acted remake that salutes horses, freedom, and familial love in ways that stir the heart.
Part of the point is that untamability, of "spirit" at least, is to be celebrated. Katie and the movie both argue that such a quality is inherently American. And the movie argues pretty loud.
J. Michael Muro's gorgeous cinematography spreads the astonishing beauty of rural Wyoming across the Cinemascope screen. ...McGraw gives an appealingly understated performance...
...lessons are learned, love is spoken and nobody needs to be put down (including country-music star Tim McGraw).
Flicka is a great family flick, perfect for a dad-and-daughter date, a family film outing, and everyone who's read and loved the book.
If you seek high-quality family entertainment, you have a friend in "Flicka."
Latest News for Flicka
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Competition, or a lack of it, will be the deciding factor at the North American box office this weekend for the half-dozen new releases that studios are packing into already... More...
October 22, 2006:
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Three well-reviewed dramas fought over the weekend box office crown, but it was a pair of dueling magicians that North American moviegoers chose first as The Prestige opened at... More...
October 19, 2006:
Box Office Guru Preview: Eastwood vs. Scorsese - Round 2
Hollywood sure loves to dwell on yesteryear. Another wave of historical films hits the multiplexes on Friday led by the World War II drama "Flags of our Fathers"... More...
October 19, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Flags" Flies High; "The Prestige" Is Magic; "Flicka" Is A Pretty Good Ride; "Marie Antoinette" Spared Critical Guillotine
This week at the movies, we've got a complex tale of heroism (Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers," starring Ryan Phillippe), a story of dueling magicians... More...
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