Apart from a lacklustre script with lazy dialogue, this tripe is adorable and horribly cute. The direction is insipid and uncinematic, while the performances is amateur hour, with some of the actors seeming to ham it up because they knew what kind of turkey they were cooking in. I am sure it was only made because of the producer's love for horse racing and gambling.
But still I enjoyed it!
Great to see Aussie suburban life from the seventies, and the operation of a racing horse stable. And I'm glad they used actual jockeys, race callers and other local Melbourne horse racing identities of that era, because it gave it an authentic feel to it, something I wished they had done for the whole film. If only they created a kind of neorealism film of the horse racing industry! Instead they went for the TV soapie style that delivered pure campy elements to a predictable story.
The highlight was Mark Holden's surprising performance, showing that he had some natural talent. And the other was the unintentional hysterical scenes of Mrs. G, who really made a real meal of caricaturing an Italian mamma.
Still worth a watch for the horsey lover, who will notice that this film is the pioneering source of the horse whispering method... Only kidding! But it almost grasped the concept of natural horsemanship.
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