I'm so glad I didn't pay

Rating: 2/10 (13 August 2003)

I was lucky that I got to see this movie for free. If I had payed for it, I would have walked out and requested my money back. Everyone was saying that this movie, despite being a Summer flick, is going to be up for Oscar contention. Plus the Dude was in it! So I thought, after hearing and reading such good reviews that I should see it. When I walked into the theater, there was a man sprawled out on the 2nd row, lying across the seats. I laughed, but this foreshadowed the evening. The movie starts off in good documentary form with a solid narrator. But after that it took what seemed like an hour for the main characters to meet. I realize that this time was used for character development, but they did a poor job of developing the characters. I cared very little for them. The only time I felt bad was when Howard's son dies, but it was done so poorly and the pain Howard felt was never fully (if at all) addressed. The editor for this movie should be put on display for public ridicule. The was so much excess in Seabiscuit that I was dumbfounded. In addition, there were many loose ends that were never wrapped up...What happened to Red's parents? Did this horse really save the nation? I thought that was an angle that should have been looked at more by the director/writers. They mentioned that 40 million people tuned in to hear Seabiscuit's race...that is staggering for the 30s or 40s. That should have been played more into the storyline. It was a long movie that could have been great. But the editor,writers, and director failed to give us a product that inspired me. When the credits roll, I shouldn't be laughing at how absurd the movie was. I see movies in the hopes of buying them when they are released on dvd. But when I got up from Seabiscuit, I was depressed at the fact that I had stayed awake until 1AM when I could have gotten a decent night's rest for work this morning. Seabiscuit did not hold my interest. It was decently acted, but there were no performances to talk about. The shining star may have been Young Red (the boy from Almost Famous) and his goodbye to his father. That was good acting. Despite that heartfelt moment, Seabiscuit did not reach the winner's circle.