Flicka, the update to the book and 1940’s film “My Friend Flicka” is back and with a new twist. Modern day and a with “small” character change, the update is just what the story needed.

TITLE: Flicka
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox
DIRECTOR: Michael Mayer
STARRING: Alison Lohman, Tim McGraw, Maria Bello, Ryan Kwanten, Daniel Pino, Dallas Roberts, Kaylee DeFer, and Nick Searcy.
RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2006
RATING: PG
RUNNING TIME: 94 min.
OTHER EDITION(S): Unknown
SPECS: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC, 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio
FEATURES: English and Spanish Subtitles, Audio Tracks: English (DD 5.1), French (DD 2.0 Surround), and Spanish (DD 2.0 Surround), and Feature Commentary by Director Michael Mayer. Side A: Full Screen Version, Tim McGraw Music Video “My Little Girl”, and Trailers. Side B: Widescreen Version, Deleted Scenes, Making of Featurette, Bloopers, and Gag Reel.
STORE EXCLUSIVES: Unknown

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 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.
-20th Century Fox

REVIEW:
MOVIE: I’ve read the book, I’ve liked horses, but this film just wasn’t on my list of must-sees. So I passed it over, much to my detriment. It is a phenomenal movie! Refreshing the old story, “My Friend Flicka” from the book and original movie, Flicka refers now to both the young girl and her wild horse.

The substitution of a young girl for the main character adds an interesting angle to the plot. Katy (Alison Lohman) has been away at boarding school. She may not pass on to the next year and is dreading telling her father (Tim McGraw) about her mess-up at school. All she really wants is to be back on the ranch that she grew up on. Spending time with the horses that her family raises. All in the space of a couple of hours her father discovers her secret about school and she finds a path to her freedom, Flicka, a wild mustang.

Fighting to keep Flicka safe and close Katy nearly loses everything for her and her family.

What I loved most about this film was Katy’s free spirit. *Small spoiler* There is a line at the end of the film, “to have the courage to love the untamed”. This line resonated with me. It just summed up the entire film and all of the motivation behind it! *End Spoiler*

But it’s not just the end that made the movie, the entire film is entertaining and you really do begin to root for the characters you’re following. Katy (even through her stupidity at times), her brother and his wish for independence, even the Ranch hands that help with the day-to-day operations become loveable.

It is certainly a film for a specific audience, but I even believe that others will highly enjoy it as well! This film is a keeper, and much to my own surprise I’ll buy it the day it comes out!

VIDEO: Coming Soon

AUDIO: Non Surround System: On a non-surround system the audio sounds great. The music, dialog, and background audio synch up well not requiring a remote to adjust the volume every few min. The quality is great! No complaints. Surround Sound System: Coming Soon

SPECIAL FEATURES: The commentary by director Michael Mayer is on both sides of the disc. As usual this is a nice addition to any disc full of information about production, actors, and with this one it’s nice to learn which one of the many Flicka’s were used in each scene! On side B with the remainder of the bonus features is a music video from Tim McGraw (who plays the father in the film) called “My Little Girl”. Also there are deleted scenes and a blooper set and gag reel as well as a Making of featurette.

PACKAGE & DESIGN: Using a typical snap case the DVD is packaged well. The cover art is nicely done. The disc itself is two sided (side A with the full screen feature and commentary and side B with the widescreen version and bonus features including the same commentary track). There are also a couple of inserts with the disc. Nothing special, but nicely done.

Scores:
Movie: 4 / 5
Video: Coming Soon
Audio: 4 / 5
Special Features: 3 / 5
Package and Design: 3 / 5

OVER ALL:
3.5 /5

EASTER EGGS: Unknown

FILMS IN THE SAME VEIN: Coming Soon

(Images courtesy of 20th Century Fox)