Parents' Guide to Secretariat

This is one of those heartwarming, inspiring tales that entire families can see together, rooting for Big Red all the way. When it comes to the magnificent horse, this is not an underdog story. Secretariat had, if the movie's account is to be believed, the heart of a champion from the moment of his birth. What is an underdog tale -- one that's fascinating to witness -- is how an upper-crust housewife transforms herself into a pioneering horse owner who defies the old boys' network of thoroughbred breeding to keep and race her horse. Even when her husband and brother demand that she sell Secretariat after his first year of racing rather than risk him losing a race and devaluing his price, Chenery stands her ground. She won't give up on her horse; she will see him run the big races. Lane is magnificent in the role, bearing the entire soul of the film on her capable shoulders.

There are some admittedly cheesy lines in Secretariat. When Eddie yells into the Kentucky sky that people are going to see something that's never been done before, it's extremely melodramatic, and Chenery sometimes talks in uplifting monologues that are a bit over the top. But you can forgive the occasional maudlin displays because the story of this extraordinary horse and its even more extraordinary owner is just so compelling. That director Randall Wallace can convey, through the use of the horse's heavy breathing, characters' nervous mutterings, and swelling gospel music, a sense of drama -- even though we all know Secretariat will win -- is remarkable.