Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Review of "And They're Off"


“And They’re Off” is a mockumentary style comedy starring Sean Astin that saw a limited theatrical release in the fall of 2011. It is being released on DVD, iTunes, video on demand, etc., on May 1, 2012. This review is based on an online preview made available to me by producer Howard Bolter last fall. Thank you, Howard, for the opportunity!


As the movie opens, we’re introduced to Dusty Sanders (Sean Astin), a down-on-his-luck race horse trainer who’s being filmed for a horse racing documentary. He’s just lost a horse in a claiming race to [real life] trainer Doug O’Neill.

“Even at 1100 pounds, these horses are like my children,” Dusty tells the film crew earnestly before saying a tearful goodbye to the horse. It’s no surprise Dusty doesn’t do well. His unconventional training methods include showing inspirational videos to his horses and relying on advice from a Feng Shui master on stall arrangements. Why would someone be making a documentary about an incompetent trainer? Not clear, but apparently another film crew is following a successful trainer as well.

Meanwhile, despite his sweet nature and eternal optimism—his catch phrase is There’s always tomorrow, it’s the day after today—Dusty’s luck isn’t improving. His girlfriend, temperamental jockey Dee (Cheri Oteri), has dumped him, and he loses the last two other horses in his stable. His father (Martin Mull), who has tried to be both father and mother to Dusty by wearing dresses and wigs, urges him to find another line of work as a taxidermist (at least he’d be working with animals). Dusty is finally reduced to running a pony ride concession for kids.

Of course, the story doesn’t end there, and a chance for redemption comes when four neophyte owners (Mark Moses, Gigi Rice, Peter Jacobson and Mo Collins) ask Dusty to train their horse, Caveat.

Like any good comedy mockumentary, the movie is full of wacky characters, off-beat dialog, non-sequiturs, inside jokes (Dusty’s favorite TV show is “Facts of Life,” which starred Sean’s real life brother Mackenzie Astin) and unlikely situations. It’s also peppered with plenty of cameos and name-dropping of famous horses, trainers (including a narcissistic Bob Baffert) , jockeys and race commentators for the racing enthusiast. The natural sweetness that Sean brings to many of his roles (Samwise, Mikey, Rudy, etc) is much in evidence here, but things might have turned out very differently for Middle-earth if Dusty had been Frodo’s companion! Still, while not the Kentucky Derby, “And They’re Off” shows that a simple county fair race can be just as fun and rewarding. :-)



6 comments:

  1. This sounds like a nice little movie. I think I would enjoy renting it when it comes out. I like the sound of Sean's character and having just watched him in Witches of Oz, I know that he will do a great job with the comedy portion of it and he always does brilliantly with drama. Great review by the way. I got a feel for the film but you didn't give too much away. I'll look forward to seeing this one. Grey_wonderer (Once again, I couldn't be verified with my LJ sign-on)

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    1. I think you'll enjoy it! It's a fun little movie and Sean's character is very sweet if clueless. I'm glad you liked the review, that's just what I was hoping for!

      Sigh... Don't know why Blogger has a thing against LJ!

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  2. I am looking forward to this one! It's a wonder to be a fan of Sean Astin, he's always busy so there is always another project to look forward to! He really does comedy very well.

    I have started using the "name/URL" choice for signing my comments on this wonderful blog. I just use my name and put in http://www. and the rest of my lj addy. Works well for this techno inept!! Which is good since I can't figure the other options out!

    Will Sean be doing another interview for you (hopefully soon)?

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    1. He is v. v. busy, which is great for us!

      I don't think you can call yourself "techno inept" anymore! You found a work around on your own, which now qualifies you as "geek in training"!

      In fact, there is another interview very very soon! :-D

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  3. Oh! You are sooooo devious! "In fact, there is another interview very very soon!" Little Miss Innocent! Now that we know what we know, we know how you are!! :D

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    1. Hee, I only said that because I knew I'd be able to post the interview shortly. I'd been keeping the secret for AGES and was about to EXPLODE! :-P

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