Somebody asked me the other day who or what Seabiscuit was.  I was shocked!  When I was young, even though Seabiscuit had come and gone before my time, every kid knew the name of the most famous horse to ever run around a race track.  It was a common household name and we all knew that this greatest of all horses not only won great races but had helped unite a depression ravaged country with his valiant life.  It was and is a true American story.  You know, the kind that not only makes you feel good but also restores your faith in the American dream.  My question was whether director Gary Ross would be able to make an entertaining story about this American hero that would appeal to the "video game/comic book" movie audience of 2003.  People today want only special effects and explosions in a Hollywood picture and most studios are afraid to take a chance on old time entertainment.  Well, thank God Universal did!  This is a fabulous picture and believe me when I tell you, it has Oscar© written all over it!

This is the story of three men and a horse.  Regular people from three different walks of life who come together to make all three of their dreams one.  A horse that's too small, a trainer that's too old, a jockey that's too big and an owner that's too dumb to know it.  With all of these flaws they are handicapped from the start, but add to that the fact that the jockey is blind in one eye and you have a recipe for disaster.  Time and time again they overcome adversity and prove to the world that they are the best at what they do while at the same time giving hope to "the little guy", John Q. Citizen who has been beaten so badly by the great depression.

This story is already in books and you can read about it in any library.  What makes this picture so special is the way the story is laid out with narration that keeps us focused.  Jeff Bridges is great as the owner who takes his own tragic life and starts over with a new wife and a horse that he knows nothing about.  Tobey McGuire is excellent as the half blind jockey who gives up boxing to learn more about this horse than he knows about himself.  But the standout performance is by a guy that I have liked since John Sayles' "Lonestar" in 1996, Chris Cooper.  Man,
does he nail this role!  He underplays it just right to convince us that he is not only washed up but may be just a little crazy!  A second Oscar© for him?  Right now, this is one of the best performances of the year for my money.  This picture is "big" and done in the old style, before explosions won Academy Awards.  The score by Randy Newman is also "old school" and keeps us firmly set in another time.  And for those of you who MUST have special effects, the horse race sequences were the best I have ever seen because the camera takes us along for the ride and WHAT A RIDE!!!  I loved this picture and will see it again.  I hope the whole country sees it and remembers.

RECOMMENDATION:  This is movie making the old fashion way and it WORKS!   Take the whole family and don't be scared by the PG-13 rating.  I'm still trying to figure that out.  Great picture!

TWO GIANT EQUINE THUMBS UP!!! (15 hands high!)

Movie Review © 2003 by Terry Anderson