Review of Secretariat (2010) by Jennie J — 21 May 2011

It is long overdue that a movie was made about the greatest feat in horse racing, the 1973 Triple Crown performance of Secretariat, which culminated in perhaps the single greatest performance in all of sports history at the 1973 Belmont Stakes. As such, Secretariat fans like myself will flock to this movie. However, I believe that casual viewers who know very little or nothing about the subject matter will actually enjoy this movie more.

Apparently the only movie plot that Disney knows is that of the underdog. Clearly, as a 2 year old champion who was favored in every race he ever ran in, Secretariat was never going to be that. Therefore, the movie isn't really about him. The movie is about Penny Chenery and her triumph over the stale sexism that prefers she stay in the kitchen and out of the stables. Mostly thanks to Diane Lane and fine performances from others within the ensemble, and to an at least decent script, this is where the movie excels.

In comparison, the horse racing reaches its climax early, at the Derby. The Preakness is merely a 3rd hand view of the original telecast, not the worst idea except that it did nothing with the astounding move Secretariat made around the first turn, and the Belmont in reaching for profoundness, missed on excitement, a mere shadow of the actual awesomeness of the real event.

So, yes, the human story is the stronger part of the movie. The problem with that is if you are a fan and know the story, then you know that about 50% of the human story is complete hogwash. There is no mention of the real savior of Meadow Farm- Riva Ridge, and Sham's trainer is twisted into a caricature for the sake of having a big villian in the movie. The most unintentionally hilarious scene in the movie is the press conference before the Derby, where Pancho Martin gloats over Penny Chenery because Sham beat Secretariat in the Wood Memorial. This is hilarious because Sham didn't win that race either. He was beaten by Angle Light who was owned by PENNY CHENERY. Hahaha...

Anyway, there is still enough predictable entertainment here to watch once, at least.