The Derby Stallion
The Derby Stallion
PG | 04 July 2005 (USA)
The Derby Stallion Trailers

An alcoholic former horse-trainer perceives in a fifteen-year-old boy a unique gift of horsemanship and makes it possible for the boy to conceive his dream and pursue it.

Reviews
Interesteg What makes it different from others?
Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?
HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.
ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
Dragoneyed363 I had avoided The Derby Stallion ever since it came out, because I was so much more concerned with other movies (of course), and I really never took the time to even care about seeing it. One day it was about time to leave the movie rental place, so I just grabbed it thoughtlessly because I didn't see anything else that was worth the renting at the time, and ran on to check out. I'm glad I finally got around to it, because this movie was a nice little film and I really enjoyed it. Of course there were things wrong with it, but the movie entertained me so much and the characters and plot were considerably likable. Although I'm not much of a horse movie lover, this movie sparked an immediate interest in me when it came on. Maybe it was because Zac Efron's in it, or maybe it just has that click from the start, either way, I was intrigued, haha. I thought it was around overly decent, and of course I knew when I finished it I wouldn't be saying, "Oh my god, this movie was perfect, it's the best movie I've ever seen!" but I tell you one thing I did not say, and that's "This movie was horrible, it's the worst movie ever". The Derby Stallion is really just a fun film that is worth the watch if you have the time, and aside from minor problems, like the way they filmed it and some people not being able to act out parts very well, this was an unexpected surprise. Sure, it's not great, and even though it shouldn't be at the top of your list, if you are interested, see it, for it was enjoyable.
asbchick01 Horses and Zac Efron, a match made in cinematic heaven, right? Oh, how you could not be more wrong. Although I find Zac Efron to be one of the hottest (if not the hottest) man on the planet, his perfect body and alluring charm did not even captivate me enough to keep my eyes open. From an equestrian's point of view, this movie was also terrible. The fact that it's impossible for someone to become a steeplechaser in several weeks makes the plot completely fallible (I've been riding for 7+ years and I am no where near ready, and I compete at 3'). Not to mention the plot already was completely predictable. But whatever. Apparently if you are a really hot, oppressed teenage boy whose parents want you to be a "real" athlete and play baseball, you can get on a horse (after falling more times than is really necessary, the horse was already trained and it was rearing/bucking? Come on. A horse does not need to gain "trust" necessarily for you to sit on its back), be jumping cross rails in a week (over and over, might I add, which proved absolutely nothing), and be steeple chasing in a few months. If you don't know what steeple chasing is, it's basically a race, but you jump. So a race with X amount of horses all jumping the same things at the same time going speeds that regular racehorses are at. Pretty much racing only 100x more dangerous. And it's definitely not Zac Efron jumping, obviously, since none of the camera angles are of his whole body during the entire race scene. Oh, and guess who wins?
wildponyfree I am usually tolerant of horse movies. I don't expect the actors to be the best riders or horse handlers. I expect mistakes to be made and things to be wrong. I try to sit back and just enjoy the story. This is what I expected to do recently when I picked up a new horse movie called The Derby Stallion. Well it was simply awful. The lead could not ride at all. I feel they could have found an actor with riding skills. Even worse was when they switched to the legs of a dark bay horse jumping when the lead horse was a bright chestnut. They should have taken the time to do the research and find the right people.Overall I was not impressed with the way this movie was shot and put together. Some of the close-ups seemed too close and out of focus and actually made me dizzy. I feel a lot more could have been done to make this movie better starting with an actor who had real life horse experience.
Ed-894 I really enjoyed this film. The acting was great and Zac Efron did some really nice work.I was drawn to this film because I ride horses and like racing. I didn't know much about Steeplechase before this movie. It is cool...looks pretty hard and a little dangerous but fun. I also enjoyed Houston Jones character and his relationship with Zac's character, "Patrick". It reminded me of my relationship with my granddad.The parents were good too, and the girl that plays Jill, is hot! My mother liked the film too, and said she would recommend it to her friends to buy for their kids because its a family movie that she enjoyed watching with me. There are some surprises in it that I won't tell you. Randy's character is a good bad guy. I think you will like it as much as I did!