Flicka 2 - 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Flicka 2: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment DVD
Review by JAM

What happens when a big-city girl finds her world thrown completely up in the air, and finds herself in a world not her own with a father she has never really known? Well, her life changes in so many ways, and with the help of a head-strong wild mustang by the name of Flicka she find that her new world may have been just what she needed.

Carrie McLaughlin (Tammin Sursok) is a big-city girl living with a grandma having health problems. Having no other options, she is sent to the country to live with her father Hank (Patrick Warburton), a man who has had no place in her life, or so she thinks. This skateboarding rebel finds every reason in the world to fight against her circumstances until Flicka appears. This wild mustang changes the mind and attitude of this girl in steps, as she finds a change in life doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. Helping change her life are some of the farmhands on Hank’s farm, including Jake (Reilly Dolman) and Toby (Clint Black). The movie also stars Emily Tennant as the troublemaking cowgirl of privilege Amy Walker who nearly destroys the life that Carrie has built for herself and Flicka.

JAMS Ink on Flicka 2

I really was not sure what to expect from this movie as I really did not know the younger actors in the movie and did not know what to expect from Clint Black as an actor and Patrick Warburton as a cowboy. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

Tammin Sursok plays the rebelling teen well, with her character never seeming to be a bad kid but really feeling like the world is treating her like a piñata hanging from a rope. The change over time that her character accomplishes is conveyed well through vocal inflection during snide comments and facial expressions that brought one closer to Carrie. She has lost everything she ever had, her mom, her grandmother, her friends, her city of residence, and was sent to a horse ranch to a father she had never known and she believed had abandoned her family. Through her time at the ranch she found a new pursuit that captured her heart (horse riding), a father who had sacrificed his happiness to try to make a life for his family, a new love who stands by her through thick and thin, and a beautiful new home she called her own.

Patrick Warburton was stiff, as his characters often are, but provided a strong, solid presence as the father figure Carrie has never had. His voice is so distinctive that I think it may hurt him at times, but as the rancher in this movie I believe his distinctive voice provided a needed power to the role. His character Hank had sacrificed so much that he had never had the chance to connect to what he had lost, and his growth throughout the movie as amazing as well. Treating his daughter much as he would a new horse does not work obviously, but he is willing to grow, especially as he gains sage advice from his farmhand and confidant Toby (Clint Black).

The location shots were amazing as the mountain ranges and expansive fields lent a beauty to this movie that enhanced the feeling coming from it. Carrie felt like a lone fish in the ocean as she discovered the expanse surrounding her, but later learns that the land around her shares so many secrets and joys.

EXTRAS

Clint Black takes some time to discuss the story and why he wanted to take part in it in A Conversation with Clint Black, a blooper reel (made me and my daughter laugh a bit) in Horsin’ Around, a making of featurette, and an introspective look at the American mustangs.

DVD Special Features

A Conversation with Clint Black
Running Wild: The North American Mustang
Making Flicka 2
Horsin’ Around

Flicka 2 from Twentieth Century Fox gallops onto shelves on DVD on May 4, 2010. Grab a copy of good hearted family entertainment and amazing landscapes only at Walmart.

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at www.jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.