Secretariat is your typical feel-good film that old and young can enjoy.  Beautifully staged, this film, based on a true story, is the classic tale of overcoming impossible odds.

Diane Lane plays Penny Chenerey, both a housewife and a mother.  Born and raised on a horse ranch, she left the country lifestyle to enter the modern world with her husband and children.  When her mother dies and her father becomes ill, Penny returns to her childhood ranch to manage the failing horse stable business her parents have left behind.  She adopts and manages ‘Secretariat,” also known as ‘Big Red.”  With a team behind her, including Lucien Laurin (played by John Malkovich), ‘Secretariat’ is trained to be the first Triple crown winner in twenty five years.  Penny and ‘Big Red’ surprise the predominantly male horse racing world, and saves her father’s business, as well as her own family.

It should be reported that Secretariat has earned criticism on many parts.  Some claim the movie was overly emotional and cheesy.  Others claim the story was based too much on Penny’s life, and not enough about the horse.  Those who have lived and seen the real ‘Secretariat’ claim that simply watching him with the Triple Crown is better than the actual movie.  All that aside, this movie still instilled emotion in me, like all good movies are supposed to do.  I like to think that the warm fuzzies were real, and that the story of ‘Secretariat’ is ultimately about an amazing horse and his amazing story.