Secretariat

The real Secretariat at the Belmont Stakes, 1973

Secretariat  OOO 1/2
Rated PG for brief mild language

After tackling the topic of Lady Gaga yesterday I felt the strong urge to dive into a vat of hand sanitizer and get out of the house to clear my mind.  Being cooped at the Shrine all week didn't help either. Not that being at the Chapter made me feel unclean, just confined (I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea).  Since there isn't enough Purel in all the Walgreen's in Chicago, and there's one on every corner out there, to make me feel properly cleansed I settled for getting out and catching a movie.  I do plan on returning to the topic of Ms Germanotta so I opted for something pure and family friendly, lest I get that infected feeling back so soon.  And their isn't much more squeaky clean than Disney's high gloss treatment of the Secretariat story.  This is meant as a compliment, by the way.

This is not a terribly deep movie, but it's not trying to be. It's extolling good old fashioned values of family, tradition and hard work, and does it in a stylishly elegant way.  I was curious how they were going to add drama to the story, since this is no Seabiscuit underdog tale.  People who know about these things believe Secretariat was the greatest thoroughbred of all time, and he won the Belmont Stakes to complete his Triple Crown run by a record breaking 31 lengths, which 37 years later has still never been equaled. Not even close.  But they do give the film a good dose of suspense and the uplifting ending that you expect. 

There are hints of faith and spirituality, but not much.  I was shocked to read a critic who protested that the reading from the Book of Job that bookends the film is a case of Christian proselytizing.  First off, Job is in the Old Testament, so why not complain to Rabbi Potasnic on WABC next Sunday? Second of all, since when is reading from a religious text in a movie a crime?  Was "Seven Years in Tibet" Buddhist proselytizing? I normally don't read reviews before I write my own, so as not to be influenced one way or the other.  But I'm sort of glad I did this time.  The level of religious bigotry, from people who claim to liberal and inclusive, is stunning to me.  The use of the old Spiritual "Oh Happy Day" was a bit over the top, I will admit, but to object to "Secretariat" because it is overly religious is like condemning "Citizen Kane" because the cockatoo has too much screen time.

Is "Secretariat a great film?  No. I didn't feel like I got to know the characters as well as the ones in "Seabiscuit." I was trying not to think about that movie, but it was hard not to.  But "Secretariat" stands up on its own and I certainly recommend it.   The bottom line is I like Diane Lane, I like John Malkovich, which are two good enough reasons to see any movie, and  both actors give their usual steady performances here.

Now, back to Gaga.  Pray for me.  And pray for her.  All sarcasm and joking aside, she is a child of God, and charity demands it.