Good? Yeah...sure. Best Picture? Far from it!

Rating: Null/10 (28 February 2004)

"Seabiscuit" is a movie about horse racing. Yeah, yeah, it's about "a long shot becoming a legend" and "the future" and other corny stuff like that, but when it all comes down to it, "Seabiscuit" is about horse racing. It's about small people who ride horses around in a circle. That's the main plot of the movie. It's all about manager Harris (Jeff Bridges), trainer Smith (Chris Cooper) and jockey Red (Tobey Maguire) trying to improve their horse for the next horse race.
And it's nominated for Best Picture of the Year in the 2004 Oscars. That is really the biggest problem I have with this movie. Sure, it's good, the actors and a good script redeem it's cheesy premise, but you really have to ask yourself what the hell the Academy was thinking when they nominated this movie over "Big Fish" or "The Last Samurai" or "In America", or many other great films released in 2003 that exceeded this hundred and forty-one minute horse race.
Maybe I'm coming down too harsh, after all, the actors did well. There is a certain amount of star power in this film, which saves it from the fact that the majority of the characters are about as interesting as fingernail dirt. Bridges' role isn't anything special, but it is Bridges, so him being on the screen made me happy. Chris Cooper knocked me out of my seat in "American Beauty" and "Adaptation", and did nearly as well in this movie. Of course, the protagonist is played by Tobey Maguire - the worst actor ever - so it loses major points for that.
Overall this is an average film saved by it's performances and script, but if it wins tomorrow I'll be a very unhappy man, 7/10.