Director : John Gatins Starring : Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Kris Kristofferson, Elisabeth Shue, David Morse & Freddy Rodríguez Trailer for Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story JustMovieTrailers - Trailer (WMP) (a.justmovietrailers.com) MovieMaze.de - Trailer (Quicktime) (imdb.moviemaze.de) More Movie Reviews... Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story Movie Stills: Click here

Review by Sally Kline:

The sport of kings gets itself a precious princess in “Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story.”Dakota Fanning’s adorability factor — and age-defying screen presence — jibes with Kurt Russell’s paternal warmth in a hokey but sometimes sweet family drama that breeds the little girl horse love of “National Velvet” with the underdog/underhorse comeback arc of “Seabiscuit.”And whoa, Nelly, is it cheesy? You bet your cheddar. A wounded nag and an estranged Kentucky family heal in tandem to find love/glory/vengeance against all odds in the most cliché of sports movie climaxes: The Big Race. In this case, it’s the famous Breeders’ Cup Classic. Only a dimwit wouldn’t be able to guess after the film’s first 20 minutes that, eventually, a malicious villain will be humiliated and good guys (and mares!) will finish first.Writer-director John Gatins trots out “Dreamer’s” banalities under the cover of the movie’s shameless subtitle: “Inspired by a True Story.” It is very, very loosely based on the remarkable recovery of a filly named Mariah’s Storm who overcame a broken leg in 1993. But what about the movie’s other contrivances — three generations of a horsey clan reuniting and a prepubescent human filly being the muse behind the equine and familial resurrections? Apparently, pure fiction..more..

Review By Ben Kenigsberg:

It's about a quick-footed horse, but Dreamer's only feat is winding up slower than Seabiscuit. Adults will be restless as stabled bucks, but even children may need unusually high Ritalin doses to slog through the visual and dramatic indifference on display. "Inspired by a true story" generally translates to "prompted by a true story but reconstituted as a cliché pileup." A promising horse is injured, but father (Kurt Russell) and daughter (Dakota Fanning) don't kill it, for sentimental reasons. Eventually Russell transfers ownership to Fanning, leading to race-qualifying meetings where the pre-teen holds her own alongside adult trainers—except for meanie David Morse, who upbraids his twee colleague in public. Dad worries about losing money, but Grandpa (a grizzled Kris Kristofferson) encourages the girl to follow her racetrack dreams. Meanwhile, viewers will be encouraged to sleep, to dream of better movies..More..