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Flicka (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:75
Fresh:40
Rotten:35
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: The rebellious protagonist will rally girls and children, but adults may find Flicka saddled with thin characters, over-the-top dialogue, and a plot that wanders into the countryside and never comes back.
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Dramas
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... 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. The principal character in the book and in its two motion picture incarnations was an adolescent boy. But this new version tells the story through the eyes of headstrong Katy McLaughlin. Katy is enrolled in a private school on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming, but her heart is with her sprawling family ranch in the state's remote mountain region. Katy returns home to the ranch, and soon becomes enamored of a wild mustang filly she finds in the mountain woods. She names the long-legged, ebony horse Flicka, or "beautiful young girl," in Swedish. But Katy's rancher father, the equally-willful Rob, sees nothing but trouble coming from the untamed animal and discourages his daughter from keeping her. Nonetheless, conflicted by a need to harness her own wild ways yet stay true to a free spirit within, Katy sets out to break through to Flicka and transform her into a riding horse. Despite her father's disapproval, Katy goes on and forms an unbreakable bond with the wild horse. Her relationship with Flicka becomes a catalyst for change for the entire McLaughlin family, which is at a major crossroads: Katy's dad is considering selling the ailing ranch, brother Howard (RYAN KWANTEN) wants to leave Wyoming for college in Boston, and her mother Nell (MARIA BELLO) is fighting to keep her family from falling apart. Can Katy ultimately tame her beloved Flicka and prove everyone wrong about the wild-hearted mustang? Will Rob find a way to support his daughter yet still keep her safe through this momentous life passage? And can the McLaughlins hold onto the ranch that they've worked so hard to maintain throughout a sea of social and economic change? -- © 20th Century Fox [More]
Starring: Alison Lohman, Maria Bello, Dallas Roberts, Tim McGraw
Starring: Alison Lohman, Maria Bello, Dallas Roberts, Tim McGraw, Ryan Kwanten, Danny Pino, Jeffrey Nordling, Kaylee DeFer, Dey Young
Director: Michael Mayer
Director: Michael Mayer
Screenwriter: Laurence Konner, Mark Rosenthal
Composer: Aaron Zigman
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Reviews for Flicka
Perhaps the children will enjoy this, but I was just choked by the corniness...
If it's going to be a paint-by-numbers plot then there should be an emotional core to hang it on.
With Flicka, young ladies who weren't in the market for Brokeback Mountain get their own chance to drool over the wide open spaces and awe-inspiring mountains of Wyoming, if they can avert their gaze from the gorgeous horses, that is.
An engrossing and beautifully acted remake that salutes horses, freedom, and familial love in ways that stir the heart.
It's about wild horses representing a special sort of speed, force, and freedom, beyond Wild West shows and shootouts and men with no names.
Ultimately, the entire endeavor seems like an effort to cash in on a predictably bankable tale.
If you seek high-quality family entertainment, you have a friend in "Flicka."
Maria Bello's skill and onscreen presence speak volumes about the mother's thoughts and feelings, even when the script leaves her high and dry.
This is a genuinely nice movie that wears its old-fashioned values proudly, and I had a good time watching it. Flicka is for the teenage girl in all of us.
will surely appeal to young girls, and even the occasional grown male film critic.
There simply aren't enough scenes illustrating the burgeoning bond between Katy and Flicka.
It’s got lovely vistas, and earnest performances, and Allison Lohman... is very believable.
Formulaic but family-friendly revision and updating of the familiar coming-of-age drama.
It takes a pristine gift for mediocrity to ruin Mary O’Hara’s muscular children’s novel about a wild boy and his wild horse, but director Michael Mayer has brought off the massacre with aplomb.
Latest News for Flicka
October 18, 2007:
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Competition, or a lack of it, will be the deciding factor at the North American box office this weekend for the half-dozen new releases that studios are packing into already... More...
October 22, 2006:
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October 19, 2006:
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Hollywood sure loves to dwell on yesteryear. Another wave of historical films hits the multiplexes on Friday led by the World War II drama "Flags of our Fathers"... More...
October 19, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Flags" Flies High; "The Prestige" Is Magic; "Flicka" Is A Pretty Good Ride; "Marie Antoinette" Spared Critical Guillotine
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