Flicka (2006)

Young Katy claims a wild horse as her own -- an effort to prove to her father that she is capable of taking over the family horse ranch one day.

Director:

Michael Mayer

Writers:

Mark Rosenthal (screenplay), Lawrence Konner (screenplay)

Stars:

Alison Lohman, Tim McGraw, Maria Bello

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim McGraw	...	Rob McLaughlin
Maria Bello	...	Nell McLaughlin
Alison Lohman	...	Katy McLaughlin
Ryan Kwanten	...	Howard McLaughlin
Danny Pino	...	Jack
Dallas Roberts	...	Gus
Kaylee DeFer	...	Miranda Koop
Jeffrey Nordling	...	Rick Koop
Dey Young	...	Esther Koop
Nick Searcy	...	Norbert Rye
Buck Taylor	...	Wagner
Wade Williams	...	Man with Clipboard
David Burton	...	Rider #6
John O'Brien	...	Mr. Masterson
Armie Hammer	...	Male Prefect

Storyline

Coming-of-age story set in the mountain vistas, A headstrong 16-year-old Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. Katy then sets her mind to tame a mustang and prove to her father she can run the ranch. But when tragedy happens, it will take all the love and strength the family can muster to restore hope.

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Plot Keywords:

falling off a horse | horseback riding | friendship | downpour | injured animal | 

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Taglines:

The biggest dreams take the most courage.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tim McGraw and Maria Bello are playing the parents of Ryan Kwanten and Alison Lohman, even though the two are but 9 and 12 years older than Kwanten and Lohman, respectively.

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Goofs

Near the end of the movie, after Flicka has been attacked, there are no visible patches of hair missing or scars from the mountain lion. Earlier in the movie when Katy finds Flicka, there are patches of hair missing where Flicka later gets attacked.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Katherine "Katie" McLoughlin: [narration] I live on top of the world... in the Never Summer Mountains of Wyoming, 8,000 feet closer to the sky. In my mountains when spring finally comes to save me from a perpetual winter, the world comes to life again and I remember what it is I'm here for. I'm the only daughter in a long line of ranchers and when we let our horses out for the first time every spring, I love to watch them rediscover the world. I can see in them an expression of my own restless spirit. Charged ...

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Crazy Credits

Because of the accidental death of two horses during filming, the usual disclaimer of "No animals were harmed in the making of this film" does not appear in the end credits.

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Connections

Followed by Flicka: Country Pride (2012)

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Soundtracks

Wild Horses
Written by Andrew Frampton (as Andrew Marcus Frampton), Natasha Bedingfield and Wayne Wilkins
Performed by Natasha Bedingfield
Courtesy of Epic Records/ SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (UK)
By Arrangement with SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

User Reviews

Bankable

"Flicka" (2006) bridges several sub-genres, unfortunately it is one of the weakest examples of each. It's a horse movie (the original is better, as are "National Velvet", The Horse Whisperer" and for that matter most episodes of "The Saddle Club" and "Spin & Marty"). It's a "wild mustangs as a metaphor for the changing West" movie ("The Misfits" and "Billy Jack" do it better). It's an overwrought coming of age melodrama (countless other films do this better as well as most of the stuff you find playing on Lifetime).

It's also an Alison Lohman film and in all fairness contains one of her best performances. Lohman is always excellent and in "Flicka" she is given a lot to work with and handles it all quite well. However, the scripting and editing assembly work are so weak that her strong performance (and nice supporting work by Maria Bello and Ryan Kwanten) cannot turn this thing into a high quality film. You might notice that neither the two screenwriters nor the director have been involved in any feature productions since the release of the film.

"Flicka" was a major release (over 2900 theaters in the U.S.) and turned a profit at the box office. I credit shrewd packaging by the film's producers as they focused from inception on insuring that the project would be bankable. They incorporated elements that pre-sold the film beyond its target audience of pre-teen girls. Tim McGraw was cast to bring in his large fan base, Kwanten was counted on to draw a fair number of teenage girls into the multi- plex, and there were so few live action family films in 2006 that it was able to tap into an under-supplied market.

As for Mary O'Hara's beloved children's book (My Friend Flicka-previously adapted into two feature films and a television show, is credited), it would be more accurate to say "inspired by" rather than "adapted from". The original's ten-year-old hero has been changed to a 16-year-old heroine named Katy McLaughlin (Lohman).

I normally rant a bit when an older actress is cast as a teenager but Lohman is the Mary Pickford of her day and with her cute face and freckles still looks physically believable playing a teen. Her new look for the film, long curly hair-dyed dark, makes her look a lot like Kari Russell (insert "very Irish" here). In this remake it's totally Katy's story (in the original the parents had a more central role) and is told from her point-of-view. She even does a short voice-over commentary to begin and close the film. Normally this POV stuff leads to viewer identification and connection, but the scripting and directing works against Lohman and you stay distanced from her character.

Katy is mega-headstrong, uncomfortable and bored at her boarding school but at one with the wilds of her family's horse ranch in Wyoming. Her father is grooming Katy's older brother Howard to eventually take over the ranch, clueless about Howard's desire to escape and about Katy's affinity for the place. She is the chip-off-the-old-block, not her brother.

The title character is a two-year old black mustang mare that is a source of conflict between Katy and her father for most of the film. While the movie looks pretty the thin plot, the poor sequencing, and absence of "genuine" emotion" doesn't add up to a particularly satisfying viewing experience.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Details

Official Sites:

Twentieth Century Fox [United States]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 October 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

My Friend Flicka

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,703,551, 22 October 2006

Gross USA:

$21,000,147

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,893,591

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures, Zucker-Netter Productions, Major Studio Partners

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1