Amazing Racer (2009) User Reviews

A Fair Effort

[pacingguy · 4/10 · 21 January 2013]

While the acting was not Oscar winning, it was competent. It was nice to see Louis Gossett Jr. back in movies though to think this was Charles Durning's last movie makes one wince. Make no mistake, the movie is predictable. For those who love racing, they will like the movie provided they can deal with the artistic changes to conform to time constraints. The race scenes were very good.

My problem comes with some of the editorial decisions. I winced at a couple of scenes which may be considered rough for those sensitive to animal rights and children. The movie didn't fully develop some of the back stories of the trainers.

The movie is promoted as being family friendly. I would suggest Amazing Racer is not a movie for those under ten or sensitive to animal abuse (simulated).

A movie to rent, not to own.

Girl and her horse eclipses mother and her daughter

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 21 September 2013]

Shannon Greene (Julianne Michelle) loses her father and she goes into a tailspin. She thought she was an orphan because she was told her mother was dead. Then she's told that her father lied to both her and her mother telling them both that other was dead. This premise seems problematic to me. Was there a funeral? Wouldn't the mother find it suspicious? I guess the unspoken understanding is that the mother didn't really want the baby.

The mother Christine (Claire Forlani) is now a successful doctor and her boyfriend Eric (Jason Gedrick) has horses for harness racing. Shannon is full of anger, but she start to open up as she takes care of one of the horses. Then one day after a race, evil horse owner Mitchell Prescott (Eric Roberts) bought out the horse. Once again, Shannon's loved one is ripped from her.

Julianne Michelle seems a bit too old to play the teen. But she does have one great scene where she breaks down after losing the horse. Of course they were able to buy the horse back, but only after Mitchell Prescott had almost killed it. The movie is supposed to be inspirational but the movie kinda missed the point. The heart of the story must be the mother-daughter reconciliation, not the love between a girl and her horse.

Loved this Family Film

[xyscaling · 11 February 2013]

Enjoyed Amazing Racer so much. Plus, since it is based on a true story, it is even better. If you enjoy family films, I think you will enjoy this one very much.

I thought the acting was great for a family film since sometimes, in this type of film, the acting can be a bit below par. Outstanding cinematography, production value, screenplay, and set design. Good music picks too.

We enjoyed the variety of several well know actors. Good to see Charles Durning one last time before his recent death. Cast just seemed to work together very well.

Harness Racing Scenes were Good

[Zoe8874 · 3/10 · 19 January 2013]

The only reason I watched was because of the harness racing element. The writers obviously didn't do a very thorough job on that research because a 16 year old with NO experience would never have been able to obtain a pari-mutuel drivers license in the time frame represented.

The emotional relationship with the mother and daughter could occur and the involvement of horses helps heal a lot of wounds. The story just throws in too many undeveloped characters and impossible horse training scenarios that are not reality.

Clean language and gorgeous horses and racing shots would make it suitable entertainment for kids. Purist racing fans are going to hate it.

The worst movie I've ever seen

[Christine2603 · 1/10 · 13 January 2013]

Only saw this movie because I like Claire Forlani and Eric Roberts but although I like Eric, I knew before I started watching that the movie would not be good because unfortunately Eric doesn't participates in good movies, so I was warned but wow I could not imagine the movie to be that bad. Worst was the leading actress, she acted so poorly it was unwatchable. And then the awful music and the horrible screenplay. Why does any producer waste his money for such crap? Well it was a waste of my time and I hope nobody else waste theirs (that's why I am writing this review although I never do). Maybe film students can watch it as an example how not to make movies! :-)

Fun family-safe movie

[kratsas · 7/10 · 17 January 2013]

In a world of "shoot em up" movies and horrible stories in the news of violence and death, it's nice to find a family-safe movie. It's a great story about a teen coping with loss through her training of a lame horse. The film has lots of emotion, actresses and actors that have a house-hold name, and it was set and filmed in the Pittsburgh area. Cineametographer Dean Cundy, the man behind Jurassic Park's beautiful scenes, does a great job with sharp images, bright colors, and racing scenes that put you in the action. And I thought actor Jason Gedrick did a great performance and stole the movie. There's even a funny cameo with Steve Guttenburg and the late Charles Durning, which I believe is his last performance. Check it out!

Could have been a good movie

[SunnySonnie · 2/10 · 10 May 2020]

I only watched it,because of the more famous actors and the horses. To be honest this story is bleeding from a lots of wounds. Lets start with that, it is just rough-and-ready.. short, missing a lot of details I'd be curious about, flashbacks for example making the whole story more exciting, especially if the dialogues are basically windy. Then, I presonally find insulting that how dumbly written lines were given to the actors, pretty good actors actually. Then.. whoever wrote this story, it seems that never ever had an actual accident or never worked in a hospital. Plus the writer was not even take the fatigue to look after some details how these horse races are actually working, and as a rider myself there would be a couple of more things to add in the riding and horse caring part anyway.. Basically, at the end of this movie, I only can say that, the story could have been a good one. I find fantasy in it, I find the whole story touching and beautiful, but because of the lack of knowledge..the end result is no good.

Julianne Michelle is magnificent. She is winner Best Actress "The House Is Burning" also starring Melissa Leo (Oscar Winner).

[glamjewel · 8/10 · 24 January 2013]

Julianne Michelle is magnificent! Her performance is superb. The cast, consisting of Oscar winners and nominees, Golden Globe winners and nominees, is fantastic. Daryl Hannah, a lover of horses, is perfect in her role. Ms. Michelle is winner "Best Actress" for the feature film "The House is Burning" also starring Melissa Leo (Oscar winner). At age 26 Julianne Michelle has won awards in Europe and Hollywood for her excellent work in film. She is a fabulous actress and a beautiful woman. Claire Forlani is always at her best. Louis Gossett Jr. (Oscar winner) is outstanding. Michael Madsen is quite convincing as a caring best friend to the dad. And Carson Brown is adorable and gives a fine performance. Charles Durning, a great actor and a US war hero, did a good job.

Real and clean feel good story - empathetic

[Lorenzo-NM · 7/10 · 9 February 2013]

• This was a feel good story with some tension that ends well. Real and clean. Since it is a true story it made me think about the emotions that the characters were really experiencing. I could empathize. Acting was decent to good or better. For what I assume was a budget film, well done. - On the technical side, a number of editing leaps could have easily been smoothed out with a little more length. For instance, no explanation of claim racing, which could have heightened tension. A few abrupt transitions and a little rushed. Makeup was a little overdone, especially for a girl waking up in the hospital. - Depiction of horse abuse was not too explicit. - Green was a recurring color theme juxtaposed with red; infused throughout and very noticeable.

Shannon's rainbow

[mitchellrharl · 10/10 · 19 October 2020]

This is a 2009 film Positv great movie so heartwarming and inspirational . I have gotten away from Hallmark these past few months hallmark repeats on 365 and 366 and I cannot stand Home and Family why is it on so many hours.Debbie and Cameron are so arrogant and goofy. Love this movie Lou Gossett Jr was great too Such talent beautiful horses

Julianne Michelle and Claire Forlani are outstanding actors

[yalemangeller2222 · 7/10 · 2 August 2013]

(spoiler) I watched this film to see Claire in action again. I thought she was great in the film with Anthony Hopkins. I have only recently seen the work of young actress Julianne Michelle and I am now her fan. These two pretty women do fine work. They made this film so much more than a horse movie. It is obvious they both love horses and much more. It is a great family film. The editing was poor; however the cinematography was sensational, just beautiful. Forlani, Michelle, Hannah and the very young girl, Carson Brown are all great looking and did a fine job acting. This is an excellent cast and they worked well together it seemed. Claire Forlani and Julianne Michelle steal the film. Great actors.

could have been better, but not bad

[jimvandemoter-50236 · 7/10 · 5 November 2020]

I'm a sucker for animal stories and this is an ok one. The fact it takes place around harness racing is an interesting plot device. The actors did a fine job with what they had to work with, namely a somewhat weak script and some plot holes that never get explained. All in all I glad I saw it once, but it's not I'll want to see again.

A pleasant story.

[zutterjp48 · 7/10 · 13 January 2024]

I enjoyed this movie based on a true story lived by the writer John Mowod.

After the death of her father Shannon discovers that her mother is still living: a great shock for her: mother and daughter meet together for the first time in Florida and Christine proposes Shannon to spend her holiday with her in Pennsylvania. Shannon doesn't feel well in this new world and repeats that she hate horses. But when she enters into the stable she sees a young filly and feels empathy for the filly. Eric, the campanion of Christine offers her to work in the office and to take care for some horses. Little by little Shannon will pratice harness racing. This will help her to improve her self-esteem and then to strengthen her relationship with her mother.

Very good performances of Julianne Michelle, Caire Forlani, Jason Gedrick, Stephen Colletti ,Eric Roberts and Louis Gossett Jr.