Thursday, October 7, 2010

Secretariat

“Please and thank you go a long way with a horse.”
- Actress Diane Lane, who plays Penny Chenery in the new film, “Secretariat”



The other day I wrote about a football movie. Today I’m writing about a horse movie.

This Friday, Disney releases “Secretariat,” a film about one of the greatest horses in the history of racing. Diane Lane plays Secretariat’s owner, Penny Chenery and John Malkovich plays trainer Lucien Laurin. Many of the scenes were filmed in Kentucky.

If you’ve read my blog long enough, or even for a brief time, you know my love of horse racing and Kentucky. So, as you can imagine, Secretariat is near and dear to my heart, as well as the hearts of many Kentuckians.

“Big Red,” as he was also known, won the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont, thus capturing the elusive Triple Crown. He won the Belmont by 31 lengths on June 9, 1973. I was born on June 10, 1973.


Last Sunday, Diane Lane attended the premiere of the movie at the Kentucky Theatre in downtown Lexington. She has endeared herself to Kentuckians through her kind and gracious attitude; never the diva. In addition to flying in from Los Angeles for the premiere, she served as the Grand Marshall for the Kentucky Derby Festival Parade this year and attended the Derby (in a lovely hat, I might add).

Now, before you think that all I watch is schmaltzy, light-weight films, know that I do enjoy independents, art house films, character studies and psychological thrillers as well. But every once in a while, you need to watch a movie that brings back your faith in human kind; that makes you cheer for the underdog (although in the case of Secretariat, he wasn’t the underdog, he was a champion; Chenery was the one who had to fight against the giants, holding her own in the Good ol’ Boy club. So we cheer for her as much as the horse in this picture).

This weekend, consider watching a light-hearted, feel-good Disney film. Put a smile on your face and forget about the world for a couple of hours (or 116 minutes to be exact).

Seen any good movies lately? If so, what would you recommend?
Images courtesy of chamiongallery.com and Disney

18 comments:

sld said...

i'm from lexington and am so excited to see the movie! i love horse races and anything about kentucky!

Kerr said...

I am so excited to see this!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I want to see this film, Diane Lane is one of my favourite actresses.
I find her natural beauty and manner so refreshing,
so many Hollywood stars come acrossas so egocentric.

James said...

I have been looking forward to this release.I really enjoyed "Seabiscuit". Another release I'm awaiting is the remake of "True Grit" I think Jeff Bridges is capable of nailing Rooster without using a John Wayne impersonation.

highheeledlife said...

I'm looking forward to seeing this movie.. I love horses..HHL

Teresa Hatfield ~ Splendid Sass said...

I am from Alabama, and I can't wait to see this movie. Not only do I love Diane Lane, I love horses.
Have anice day.
Teresa

Main Line Sportsman said...

My whole family is psyched for this movie....
I suspect it will be better than Seabiscuit..which was darn good.

I agree w/ james..a True Grit remake w/ Bridges could be great...if Bridges channels the Character he spun in Crazy Heart he could be outstanding!

North of 25A said...

I am also looking forward to seeing this movie. I love these kinds of films, along with lots of others too. No apologies! Of course, I also watch Real Housewives...
Best,
Colleen

Cathi said...

I definitely will be going to see this when it is out in a few days! :)

kayce hughes said...

I can't wait to see it. I am very curious to see how they portray everything. I grew up in a horse racing family and rember Mrs. Chenery very well.

Courtney said...

I LOVE secretariat - that horse was just amazing. I wish I could have seen him race!

Town and Country House said...

I'm looking forward to seeing this one along with You Again and the new Wall Street movie.

Tessa said...

Love a good horse movie! Looking forward to this one. A couple good films we've watched on Netflix lately- State of Play (with Russell Crow and Ben Affleck not the British drama) and The Jonses.

Elizabeth said...

i SO want to see this! it looks so good!

Jo said...

This is on my list as a must see ~ can wait for the release. What a family movie with a great story line.

Jo

A Refocused Life said...

I've been waiting on this one...and it's here!

Jessi said...

I am looking forward to seeing this too! Hopefully we'll get to the movies before baby ;)

pve design said...

We are planning to go to this movie tonight!
As a Kentuckian too, one cannot help but love horses, especially Secretariat!
Enjoy the weekend.
pve