Review Copyright Cassandra Henry, 2003

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"You don't throw a whole life away just 'cause it's banged up a little." -- Tom Smith CASS' CLIP (WARNING: **spoilers below**) The era: The Great Depression. Before Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges) became Seabiscuit's owner, he was first a bicycle mechanic, and then a self-made millionaire in the automobile industry. All Charles' good fortune ends when his son, Freddie (Dyllan Christopher), is killed in a tragic accident. As a result of this tragedy, Howard's first marriage to Fannie (Valerie Mahaffey) ends in divorce. But, Charles does find happiness again and remarries a younger woman, Marcela (Elizabeth Banks) in Tijuana. While in Tijuana, Charles buys an unlikely racehorse, who changes his misfortune into fortunate. With the booming of the auto industry, Tom Smith's (Chris Cooper), cowboy lifestyle, becomes a dying breed. But, Tom's unusual gift of talking to horses lands him a job as Seabiscuit's trainer. When Johnny "Red" Pollard's (Tobey Maguire) parents fall on hard times during the Depression, they abandon him at a makeshift racetrack. But, Red survives life's hard knocks as a boxer and a jockey. Red's luck changes when Charles and Tom ask him to ride Seabiscuit. Seabiscuit was an undersized horse whose knees didn't straighten all the way and he wheezed when he walked. His bad fortune came in the way of abuse and mishandling. Seabiscuit was the kind of horse that didn't give up even when he was losing by a nose. But, Seabiscuit's racing spirit was saved when his true talent was discovered and he was given a second chance to prove that he was a great champion racehorse. And what happens next, Hollywood didn't write, but Seabiscuit did. DA 411 Last weekend, TCM aired the 1949 movie, The Story of Seabiscuit, starring Shirley Temple, Barry Fitzgerald, Lon McCallister, Pierre Watkin and William Forrest. Screenwriter-director Gary Ross' ambitious attempt to adapt Laura Hillenbrand's best-selling nonfiction novel, Seabiscuit, for the big screen also opened last weekend. It chronicles the lives of three men, Red Pollard, Tom Smith, Charles Howard and one racehorse, Seabiscuit. Tobey Maguire and Jeff Bridges turn in wonderful performances and make their characters likable enough. However, I especially enjoyed Chris Cooper's performance of the real horse whisperer, Tom Smith. Cooper's innate ability to embody his characters is exactly why he won this year's Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. Seabiscuit would not have been as much fun to watch without the likes of William H. Macy, who portrayed the radio journalist, Tick-Tock McGlaughlin. Macy provides some much-needed comic relief and definitely steals every scene whenever he's onscreen. The narration by historian, David McCullough, the flashbacks of the era shown through newsreels and still photos, combined with metaphoric sayings were a bit too folksy for my taste. For example: "It's better to break a man's leg than his heart." -- George Woolf "Even though we found this broken down house and fixed it, it can be said that he fixed us. Well, we fixed each other." -- Red Pollard "You don't throw a whole life away just 'cause it's banged up a little." -- Tom Smith "Sometimes when the little guy doesn't know he's the little guy, he can do big things." -- Tom Smith Despite Seabiscuit's slow start, what will keep you on the edge of your seat are the actual horse racing scenes. With the camera angles, the audience will feel like their right there on the racetrack, and I swear you'll feel the dirt kick-up in your face. CASS' CONCLUSION I bet Seabiscuit will race away with the hearts of moviegoers who are hoping to see a more gentler and kinder summer movie. SEABISCUIT:   back to top Copyright Cassandra Henry, 2003 EMAIL: cass@3blackchicks.com