50 to 1

When we see a film based on a true story, which we've seen a plethora of, it evokes up much interest as to how did this story evolve into what we see on the screen. Take that 'based on a true story' basis and add to it a story about horse racing, and you've got a story that is filled with an underdog premise which we all love. We've seen it before with "Racing Stripes", "Seabiscuit" and the most recent, "Secretariat". Now we have "50 to 1" to add to that list so we can route for the underdog all over again.

A misfit group of New Mexico cowboys, Chip Woolley, Mark Allen and Leonard 'Doc' Blach (Skeet Ulrich, Christian Kane and William Devane) respectively, find themselves on a journey of a lifetime when their crooked-footed small race horse qualifies for the Kentucky Derby in 2009. Based on the inspiring true story of Mine That Bird, the cowboys face a series of mishaps on their way to Churchill Downs, becoming the ultimate underdogs in a final showdown with the world's racing elite.
This story starts off with the two cowboys, Chip and Mark first meeting as Chip helps Mark in a bar room fight back in 1998. They part-- one going in one direction and the other the other direction quite literally. As Chip and his brother Bill (David Atkinson) try to keep a horse racing farm alive-- now being 2008, Chip ends up re-meeting Mark who is also in the same biz, however doing much better. Through chip's convincing that a horse he found named Mine That Bird is a winner, Mark agrees and they become horse business partners and fast friends. Chip ends up on crutches due to a motorcycle accident losing the use of his legs temporarily, so Mark hires a trainer, Alex (Madelyn Deutch) to help him out. Chip's and Alex's working relationship is tense, at best, but realizing there's too much at stake to lose, they 'grow up' and they, Mark and Doc receive an invitation to the world's most famous horse race.

Others to round out the cast are Todd Lowe as Kelly, Calvin Borel as himself (Mine That Bird's jockey), Bruce Wayne Eckelman as Bob Baffert, Hugo Perez as Miguel, Eloy Casados as Charlie Figueroa, Tish Rayburn-Miller as Joanne Blach, Doc's wife, Jessi Badami, Judith Jones and Benjamin Glenday as Serena, Pamela and Kevin Blach, respectively, the kids of Doc and Joanne, and Bernardo P. Saracino as Saeed Bin Suroor.

This was directed with grit and determination by Jim Wilson ("Stacy's Knights" '83, "Smart Alec" '86, "Head Above Water" '96, "Laffit: All About Winning" (Documentary) '06, "Whirlygirl" '06). The way that Chip and Mark not only became friends, but also great business partners, albeit not without problems, was surely a mark of solid directing by Wilson. It was written by Faith Conroy and Wilson based on a story by Elizabeth Gaylynn Baker, Conroy and Wilson. With the exception of a couple of choppy places in script, this was a solid screenplay, and keeps one's attention consistently.

Like the previous horse racing films, this takes these unlikely underdogs and against all odds, 50 to 1 in this case, has you standing and cheering not only for the horse, but the cowboys as well.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                       Rated: PG-13                        110mins.