FLICKA: COUNTRY PRIDE
(G)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5)
STARRING
Clint Black as TOBY
Lisa Hartman Black as LINDY
Kacey Rohl as KELLY
Emily Bett Rickards as MARY MALONE
Teryl Rothery as PAIGE
Max Lloyd-Jones as BRIGGS MCBRIDE
Siobhan Williams as STEPHANIE MEYERS
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Directed by: Michael Damian
BY KEVIN CARR
As many of you know, I am a guy. Many of you might also know that while I have children, they are all three boys. So it goes without saying that my house is a haven for guys. There’s very few girly things around, and the entertainment we seek out as father and sons are rarely things that appeal widely to girls. No frills. No princesses. No angels. And no horses.
For this reason, I was stuck watching “Flicka: Country Pride” alone, and that was okay. But even though this is a male-dominated household, soon to be awash in teenage testosterone as my boys reach puberty, I can find enough of a feminine side in me to enjoy the series of “Flicka” movies.
I saw the first “Flicka,” which got a full theatrical release, when it hit DVD six years ago. I thought it was okay, though I was kind on it knowing that it wasn’t exactly my kind of movie. My biggest complaint about the film was that it wrapped itself in the expected angst of a teenage girl story.
I didn’t see the second “Flicka” movie, or the original “My Friend Flicka” that the series is based on, but I did get a chance to see this new one. In this story, Toby (Clint Black) returns on the scene with his horse to help another girl who is having some struggles in life. Kelly (Kacey Rohl) is dealing with the loss of her father and the potential loss of her family’s business. She wants to be a part of her riding team, but money is tight, and one of the girls on the team has it in for her.
When Toby shows up with Flicka, Kelly finds an immediate bond with the horse. Together, they put together a new riding team that hopes to win a competition.
As far as G-rated, heartwarming, direct-to-video films go, it wasn’t bad. It is still a formulaic film, something you’d see made for the Hallmark Channel with Disney Channel sensibilities. And while there’s plenty of emotional struggles that Kelly goes through, the whole of the picture is a lot less angsty than the original “Flicka” with Alison Lohman.
It’s not a complex film, but the performances are decent, and the production value is worthwhile. It’s a good choice for anyone who has a girl at home who is obsessed with horses… which is pretty much all of them.
The Blu-ray comes with a smattering of special features. There’s a music video for “Let’s Go” as well as a welcome back to Clint Black in the featurette “Black is Back.” An additional featurette “The Legend Continues: Creating the Next Chapter,” which looks at the overall development of the “Flicka” series.