Flicka

Director Michael Mayer’s tedious adaptation of Mary O’Hara’s 1941 novel about a boy and his filly swaps the lad for a teenage girl (Alison Lohman) with daddy issues. The film too suffers from father problems, in the form of a golden, Wrangler-clad Tim McGraw. Saddled with laughably leaden lines (notably involving the word “loco”), the country star contributes unintentional comedy to the hobbled plot. Indeed, scant drama arises from the metaphorical taming of the title steed — the equine embodiment of the heroine’s rebellion against the ranch patriarchy. As the doting mother, Maria Bello lends a light touch, and Flicka gamely bucks and ripples as the ultimate Freudian symbol for something big between your legs. Yet for all the screaming and sobbing (“Flickaaaaaaa!”) and rather orgasmic-looking gallops across voluptuous Wyoming, this mustang ride comes up irredeemably lame.

On the Web
Flicka's Web site: http://flickamovie.com/