Flicka: Country Pride Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

Flicka: Country Pride Blu-ray Movie Review

A Family Affair

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater May 7, 2012

Flicka, 20th Century Fox's 2006 feel-good horse film, turned a modest profit at the box office but was a surprising hit on DVD, snatched up by parents looking for some inoffensive, family-friendly entertainment. The straight-to-video Flicka 2 followed inevitably in 2010 with an entirely new cast and new story, and now we have Flicka 3--or Flicka: Country Pride--which, at best, has a tangential tie to the second film. The series is less about narrative continuity than thematic sameness; each of the movies follows a lonesome girl who bonds with Flicka, learns a few valuable life lessons, and overcomes some kind of contrived adversity. Compelling? Nope. Gorgeously shot? Not particularly. Original? No way. But it's hard to rag on these well-meaning movies for being unambitious.

The goal is here is simple--tell a modestly entertaining story filled with wholesome American values and lots of shots of enraptured tween girls bounding on horseback across sunny fields. These are the sort of movies that get positive write-ups in Focus on the Family newsletters and unbridled praise on the mommy blogs. You get the picture. And you probably don't need a review for this one. If you're thinking "cornball sentiment," you're right, and you'd do well to steer clear. If you liked the first two films, though, you'll probably be cool with the third, providing you don't mind a slightly diminished budget.

Everything you need to know about the story and tone of the movie is contained in the opening prologue text: "In the west there lives a mustang, as swift and wild as the wind. With a heart so bold, she can mend a restless spirit. That magnificent creature is...the horse named Flicka." Indeed, wounded souls are healed, and yes, Flicka gets ample opportunity to gallop and whinny and rear impressively on her hind legs in slow-motion while sunbeams stream through her silky black mane. Majestic. As far as a girl and her horse-style stories go, this one is entirely unoriginal, but it at least does a decent job of following the established formula.

The film is set in Larkspur, Wyomin', at Cherry Creek Farms, a nearly bankrupt horse boarding operation run by widowed middle-aged mom Lindy (Lisa Hartman Black) and her withdrawn teen daughter, Kelly (Kacey Rohl). After her dad died in a truck accident, Kelly quit the Cherry Creek equestrian team and gave up her lifelong dream of becoming a champion horse jumper. Now, she's unpopular at school and gets picked on by the cool rich girls, who stable their hundred thousand dollar steeds at Cherry Creek and point and laugh while Kelly shovels manure. Sad times! If only there were something that could mend our young protagonist's restless spirit...

Enter Flicka, the black mustang with a heart of gold, who trots into Kelly's life when her owner, harmonica playin' ranch-hand Toby (Clint Black), is hired on as Cherry Creek's new stable manager. Flicka fans might remember Toby from the second film, and he's back here with his aw- shucks smile and sagacious cowboy wisdom. (He tends to speak in horse-related metaphors, like "We may ride in different saddles, but we both get on from the same side.") Might Toby become a substitute father figure for Kelly? A love interest for Lindy, perchance? Will he help turn the flagging ranch around? You'll get no spoilers from me, readers.

As for conflict, the film employs every horse-story cliche imaginable, and even borrows a few stale chestnuts from the sports movie genre. The "big game" here is the annual horse jumping championship, and here's the twist--if the Cherry Creek team doesn't place well, it's likely that the farm will go out of business. And oh no! One of the riders injures herself and can't compete, putting the team in danger of forfeiture. Will Kelly get back in the saddle to save the farm? Will she get through her feud with teammate Stephanie Meyers (Siobhan Williams), a beyond-spoiled brat? Will she find love with Briggs McBride (Max Lloyd Jones), her hunky best friend? Will she find a cute dress to wear to the charity ball? Once again, friends, I'm staying mum.

Rest assured, though, that Flicka 3's conclusion delivers a tidy moral or two or ten. "If you give it your all, you've already won," is the main message, but there are teary-eyed odes to friendship and forgiveness, stern warnings against jealousy and snobbery, and plenty of proof that loyalty pays bigger dividends than being a traitor to the team.

The film is directed with workmanlike blandness by former Young and the Restless matinee idol Michael Damien, but the end result is at least better than his last straight-to-video sequel, the practically unwatchable Marley & Me: The Puppy Years. There are no talking dogs here, thankfully--though Flicka does let out a cheek-chuffing nay-ay-ay-ay whenever someone mentions her name--and the human actors are capable enough this time around. Kacey Rohl makes a relatable lead--you might recognize her from The Killing or Red Riding Hood-- and though country star Clint Black mugs like no one's business, he's got a folksy presence that's hard to badmouth. If you were wondering if Lisa Hartman Black is his real-life wife, why yes she is, and they share a visible affection for one another on screen. Their young daughter makes her debut in a bit part here too, proving that Flicka 3 is a family affair in every sense of the phrase.

Flicka: Country Pride Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Straight-to-video and shot on video--with the Sony CineAlte F35 digital camera--Flicka: Country Pride arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p/AVC- encode that's satisfying enough for this kind of sequel-to-a-sequel production. You shouldn't expect razor-edged clarity, but there's an appreciable sense of detail in the picture, with close-ups that reveal a decent amount of high definition texture in clothing and facial features. Color is merely average too, realistic and lightly graded for a bit of extra punch. You'd certainly never mistake this for a bigger budgeted theatrical film, but let's stick with the good-- there are no outright compression problems, source noise never rises to the level of distraction, and the picture is free from unnecessary DNR and edge enhancement. Considering the film's pedigree, I don't think we could ask for much more.

Flicka: Country Pride Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The same goes for the film's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, a functional but overall unremarkable mix. The high-stepping action doesn't stray too far from the front channels, with the rear speakers pretty much confined to occasional ambience--insect sounds, light wind, the announcer's voice over the competition's P.A. system--and the spread-out blare of country/pop songs you've probably never heard before. There's also an inspirational score--I use inspirational lightly--that soars and sweeps, providing ready-made emotion for each scene. The music has a nice presence though, and sounds good with the volume turned up. The priority here is on dialogue, which is always cleanly recorded, high in the mix, and easy to understand. For those that might need or want them, the disc comes with optional English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles, in bright white lettering, and there's also a French Dolby Digital 5.1 dub.

Flicka: Country Pride Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Legend Continues: Creating the Next Chapter (1080p, 11:10): Your usual making-of/behind-the-scenes piece, with interviews and on-set footage.
• Black is Back (1080p, 7:50): A short piece about the casting of the Black family.
• Let Go - Music Video (1080p, 4:38)

Flicka: Country Pride Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sweet, clean, and infused with more moral fortitude than a Sunday school lesson, Flicka 3 is also trite and entirely unsurprising, basically repeating the formula of the first two films with diminishing returns. Still, it'll appeal to those looking for mom-approved entertainment aimed at the 10- and-under tweenaged girl crowd. On Blu-ray, the film looks and sounds like what it is--a low-budget straight-to-video sequel--but I kinda doubt the presentation will matter much to the target audience. For easily-appeased horse lovers only.