The Horse Dancer (2017) Reviews

• I wish this was a better movie...

  mlktrout2018-03-28

  Learning about the real-life Black River Ranch made me wish I could like this movie better. The movie is lovely to look at; the scenery makes me long to visit this place myself. And I love horses, so anything from Seabiscuit to Secretariat will find me eagerly in front of the screen. But that's where I have to stop. Everyone else seems to find it flawed because of the acting, and it's true, you won't find any Oscar winners here; everyone else has already ripped the actors to shreds, so there's no need to go there now. But it's not just the acting. It's the writing. The main character, Sam, comes from a home where her mother is single and working too hard to ever associate with the girl; her main relationship is with her grandmother, whose sweetness and emphasis on friendship and teamwork makes it just not make sense that the girl is such a cold, standalone snot. It gives her a great character arc--but that isn't handled well either, as the girl spends most of her time on her own, and the only two friends she seems to make are with the counselors, not among her peers. Even at the end of the movie when she makes the video to save the camp (and the video was not her idea, regardless of what any other reviewer says; it was a counselor's idea and she went along with it). There's something that looks like a subplot in the middle of the movie when one of the counselors approaches a lonely little bespectacled girl and tells her not to feel bad for having a speech impediment, because she'll find something that she does really well instead. So one would expect to see this little girl at the end of the movie, having found her "thing"--but nope, she's back at the campfire with all the other non-stars, singing the usual silly songs. So the themes of the movie--friendship and teamwork--never are pulled off, and I blame this solely on the writers, who apparently were on the clock and anxious to get home to dinner. It's a shame, because it could have been a much better movie.

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• Like a Hallmark TV Movie crossed with Plan 9 From Outer Space

  gordonm8882017-07-27

  Wow. I had low expectations for Horse Dancer, but this movie was much worse than I had expected. This film is like a cross between Hallmark TV Movies and Plan 9 from Outer Space. The acting in this movie was not at the level of most high school productions. Richard Karn (of Tool Time) and Rachel Sowers (who plays Lisa in this movie) can act but the rest of the cast is awful. From the credits it seems like the director simply recruited children in his church to be in the movie. The plot and action have many unrealistic elements to it - in particular a lengthy 'police search and rescue' scene that had my wife and I howling with laughter. In the first few minutes, the main character receives a letter -at her gym (huh?) - notifying her as to whether or not she made the US Olympic team. (Isn't that usually announced at the trials?) She doesn't open the letter, takes it home and tells her Mom she received the letter. Her Mom advises her to discuss the letter with Grandma and then leaves to go to work. (I mean, if the characters don't care about this life-changing letter then why should we?) At the climax of the movie, the stunt double has a body type that is so completely different than the actress she subs for, that it destroys the scene. There are scenes where kids sing campfire songs -without any point and without furthering the action. Just... campfire songs. Really compelling stuff, Not. And on and on. One of the worst movies of the century.

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• I was really pulling for this movie

  ajoyce212018-09-17

  I was hoping this movie would be good because I felt like the premise had a great deal of potential. Like others have stated, the acting was bad but that wasn't really my biggest issue with the characters. I don't know if it was a casting issue or if the director intended this, but aside from the Lisa character I found none of the main characters to really be likable at any point in the movie. Usually in movies like this when characters start off as obnoxious or stand-offish, there's that golden moment where someone or something touches their heart and then they become warm and likable. That never fully happened with these characters, in my opinion. Maybe other people felt differently but my opinion of these characters never truly changed all that much throughout the movie. I didn't even like that perky head counselor lady. I found her to be a terrible phony. Also... what kind of place calls for a search party for a missing minor up to the point where they're getting ready to search the bottom of a lake, and doesn't call the girl's mom?!

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• Actually terrible

  jashelalee2018-08-19

  This is the single worst movie I think I've ever seen in my entire life. There are zero, I repeat, zero redeeming qualities. Bad acting, poor writing, shameful directing... save yourself some brain cells and don't watch it. You're welcome.

• VIEWS ON FILM review of The Horse Dancer

  burlesonjesse52017-06-06

  Samantha Wick (played by 17-year-old Sophie Bolen) is a talented and young, American gymnast. She's also standoffish with a defensive personality. After getting cut from the U.S. Olympic team, her ailing grandmother pays for her to go to a horseback riding camp. When said campsite falls into financial turmoil, Samantha uses her notoriety and equestrian vaulting skills to attract more students and save the entire program. That's the gist of The Horse Dancer, my latest review. Shot on location at Black River Farm & Ranch (in Cromwell, Michigan), it definitely has production values to boot. On the flip side, "Dancer" is also creepily childlike. And within its first forty-five minutes, you might see shades of the worst screen offering via 2017. With G rating and nearly two-hour running time intact, The Horse Dancer at times plays off like an inexpert student film. It contains novice, wooden acting by almost everyone involved and a Muzak soundtrack that may make you cringe indelibly. I suppose without troupers Jason London (Dazed and Confused) and Richard Karn (of TVs Home Improvement) in supporting roles, this flick wouldn't even have the chance to get green- lighted. Helmer Joel Paul Reisig does improve on "Dancer's" second half by settling in and giving it a more dramatic feel. And his direction although all over the place, still comes off as enthusiastic and somewhat authentic. Unfortunately, it's all too little, too late. And it can't compensate for what I mentioned in the last two paragraphs. Not by a long shot. Parents who are able to sit through most G-rated films, might find The Horse Dancer to be a little tasking with its cramped dialogue exchanges and its overly lily-white nature. As for the kiddies, well they may embrace it depending on their non-animated attention spans and their tolerance for a mostly unlikable main character (her antagonistic counselor rival is no prize either). Overall, a mixed review from me.

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