Dreamer - Palm Beach Post movie review

Schmaltz, satisfactions abound in 'Dreamer'

Dreamer is the cinematic equivalent of a really good spinach quiche: light, fluffy and significantly cheesy, but with enough honest-to-goodness nutritious bits to justify eating it all up, every flaky, fattening, crispy morsel.

It's about a lame racehorse, a talented trainer who's lost his smile and his precocious, wise-beyond-her-years daughter, who looks into the horse's eyes and sees the soul of a champion, the heart of a lion, the eye of the tiger and some such other inspirational whoop-dee-do.

So yeah, I kind of loved it.

DreamWorks SKG

'Dreamer'

The verdict: Good for people who like horses, and nice children, and daddies and mommies, and rainbows and sunsets. And America.

Director: John Gatins
Starring: Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Kris Kristofferson, Elisabeth Shue, Freddy Rodriguez
Run time: 98 minutes
Release date: Oct. 21, 2005
Rating: PG for brief mild language.
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The point of a movie like Dreamer isn't to be artistically significant or to even change anybody's life, although it has some obvious lessons, like "Dreams are good" and "Daddies and daughters sharing a common goal is awesome" and "If you don't find Dakota Fanning fundamentally adorable, you're the antichrist. And we can prove it."

Occasionally, Dreamer smacks you over the head like a pink, fluffy anvil of insistent cuteness, just in case you haven't figured out which characters you're supposed to cheer and which ones you're expected to hiss and boo at from behind your jumbo popcorn. But in the end, the horse and her people come through with the requisite sweetness, "Aww" moments and vigorous clapping.

Kurt Russell is Ben Crane, the aforementioned troubled horse trainer, who's fallen on hard times, has little connection with his daughter Cale (Dakota Fanning, who I'm more and more convinced was created in a top-secret child actor lab using the DNA of Jodie Foster, Meryl Streep and a Muppet Baby.)

He's also estranged from his father Pop Crane (Kris "Krusty" Kristofferson), another gifted horseman. But all three find their way back to each other (sniff!) through a promising horse named Sonador (played by a beautiful animal named Sacrifice. No word on whether she does her own stunts.)

Sonador, whose name means "dreamer," is the descendent of great champions, and has a bright future ahead of her — that is, if she rests her leg and sits out one big, important race. But Ben's evil, money-grubbing boss Palmer (David Morse) makes the horse race anyway. (This is where you start hissing.)

Sonador breaks her leg in the race, and Ben, realizing that little Cale feels connected to the horse, buys her from Palmer, who has fired him and his two employees, flashy trainer Balon (Luis Guzman) and "chubby" former jockey Manolin (Six Feet Under's Freddy Rodriguez).

Together, they nurse Sonador back to health, and, with new owner Cale as inspiration, prepare her to enter the prestigious Breeder's Cup race. Pretty much everything you think happens, happens — there's all sorts of bonding, crying and cheering, as well as many perfectly lit shots of the horse and her human friends, including Elisabeth Shue, who plays Cale's mom and Ben's wife.

As predictable as it is, no one's phoning it in — Russell does tortured redemption well, and his scenes with Shue are positively, well, dreamy. Fanning, even if she's really a KiddieBot, has the most beautiful eyes, wide expressive orbs that alternately pool with tears and disappointment, and shine winningly when she's thrilled. Even The Mummy's Oded Fehr, who usually strikes me as more suavely decorative than actually talented, has some nice moments as a rich Arab prince who figures prominently into Sonador's fortunes.

The one sore thumb in the proceedings is poor David Morse, a usually talented guy stuck with the stock Evil Guy role. Writer/director John Gatins goes way overboard just so you know you're supposed to hate Palmer. He doesn't just order Sonador put down when she breaks her leg, but insists it be done in front of scared kiddie Cale. He can't be merely a snob — he has to be a racist bully who dismissively refers to Manolin and Balon as "the Mexicans."

Plus, he has funky facial hair, and he's mean to Dakota Fanning, which means he must be destroyed. Or at least sneered at heartily.

Even with the schmaltz and heavy-handedness, there are worse things than seeing families who love each other and pretty horses. And there's always Oded Fehr in a fine, tailored suit. See, something for everyone!

The Flick Chick's Bottom Line: You'll probably like Dreamer if you like horses, and nice children, and daddies and mommies, and rainbows and sunsets. And America. If you don't, I can't help you.