Customer Reviews

Fresh Horses

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Fresh Horses, on paper, would have seemed to have been a perfect hit script. You had Molly Ringwald, with her porcelain skin and delicately curly red-blonde hair. You had Andrew McCarthy with his boyish charm but also the male strength beginning to come through. You had a romantic triangle. You had the "class divide". The Brat Pack was loved by millions. How could this fail?

The problem really does seem to come down to the actors themselves. There's very little "energy" at all to this story which is supposedly about passion overcoming logic. Molly is a 16 yr old girl in rural Kentucky. When her stepfather begins fondling her, and her mother does little to help, Molly tries for the only escape she can find - marrying the older bad-man-in-town, Viggo Mortensen. She claims she never slept with Viggo - only used him for escape. Then Viggo's father began fondling her, and now she wants out of this house as well.

To get momentary relief from her homelife, she hangs out at a friend's home, which is a 24 hour party. Here she runs into Andrew. Andrew is a very serious student who has just gotten engaged to his high-class, wealthy girlfriend. The girlfriend rambles on and on about china patterns, having children and living the perfect life. Andrew goes with the flow until he sees Molly - and is instantly in lust. Molly leads him to believe she's 20, single, and interested in him. It takes maybe 3 days before he's sleeping with her. To his credit, he does tell his fiancee promptly, and breaks off the engagement.

You'd think everything was wonderful now, right? However, Andrew learns from friends about Molly's lies. He decides to keep seeing her anyway. However, he doesn't want to introduce her to his family, and has no intention of marrying her. He says he loves her - but his feelings seem to be more related to sex. At one point he even gives her a wad of cash to buy her off.

There's a telling scene near the end when Andrew thinks Molly has been publicly stripped by her husband. Andrew storms off to their house to have a talk with Viggo. Andrew is deliberately rude - laughing at Viggo's artwork and putting him down. But it's Viggo who is the calm one here. When Molly shows up, Viggo points out that Molly's been doing all this lying and scheming so that Andrew would be a Knight in Shining Armor and ride off with her. He asks Andrew - if you're saying I'm not good enough for her - it seems that you think you're too good for her, right? Andrew finds himself agreeing - that he won't take on Molly himself. He wants to get Molly away from Viggo, but then is going to abandon her to her own means. How could he figure that Molly would be better off with nobody at all, vs with Viggo?

Fast forward to a year later, and Molly has in fact found herself a "wealthy college boy" to take care of her and is taking classes again. She's happy, and Andrew is sad. I suppose you have to give them credit for a not-typical Hollywood ending to the story.

The landscapes are often gorgeous, and the various details of high class, low class, city, country are all played nicely against each other. So the problem really comes down to the main actors. Molly and Andrew maybe have gotten too used to playing ensemble roles where each person just has to be a stereotype without a lot of depth. You really get a sense of shallowness when you're watching this movie. Andrew has an entire life including a long-term romance, that he's set in. In just 3 days he's thrown it all away for Molly - but you never get any real sense that he cares about her. Molly was supposedly taking some quite desperate steps to find safety in her life - including seducing and lying to Andrew in order to convince him to rescue her - but she never seems to care much either.

Intriguingly, only 2 people really seem to have depth in this movie. One is Ben Stiller, Andrew's best friend. It's ironic because Ben's character IS shallow and cares more for himself than for those around him. Even so, Ben really seems authentic as someone who isn't used to having to worry about others - but who really does try his best, many times, to get Andrew to wake up to reality. The other is Viggo Mortensen. You only glimpse Viggo once until the end of the movie - he's just referred to as a "rough guy" who has done many bad things. When you actually encounter Viggo (after Andrew has in essence broken into his house to confront him) you're prepared for the worst. However, Viggo is very patient, very well spoken, and quite intelligent in his commentary. He doesn't thrash Andrew for sleeping with his wife. Instead, he lays out the situation and makes both Andrew and Molly face their failings. Molly deliberately lied and used Andrew as a tool of getting a better life. Andrew, for his part, knew he'd never actually rescue Molly but led her on repeatedly to have time with her.

Some have said this is the worst movie ever. Many sections of it can be very painful to watch. However, I do find glimmers of meaning - especially in the ending discussion with Viggo. Even there, though, you would think this would be a moment of great soul searching for Andrew and Molly. Instead, both seem to think, "Yeah, I guess that's true. Oh well, see ya." I don't mind gloomy movies at all - in fact I really appreciate them sometimes. However, if a movie has no depth of character or quality acting, it just makes the whole experience fall flat.

I have been a fan of this movie for many years since its release. When I decided to purchase, I was surprised to see such negative reviews. Granted its not necessarily Oscar quality material. But, the cinematic backdrop is interesting and goes a long way to lend great atmosphere to the story. I think McCarthy and Ringwald do a good job with the acting. It's not hard to understand why Larkin (McCarthy) falls for Jewel (Ringwald ) right off the bat, Ringwald imbues her character with a palpable steamy sensuality in their first meeting. Mortensen (Green) is convincing as the low life "husband" of Jewel. It's also interesting to see an early role for Ben Stiller, especially if you are a fan. I can't agree that ... is wasted on this movie. In fact, I wish it were available in DVD format. The story ending has a heart-rending quality that has stayed with me through the years since I first viewed this movie.

All of these bad reviews confuse a movie they didn't like with a badly made movie. This is a very well made movie, with perfectly competent performances. The tone is quite serious, and the ending won't cheer anyone up. But then there are many people who loved Titanic, which I found utterly depressing. More to the point, though, who cares about the problems of these rich kids? Not me. The REAL reason to watch this is to see Molly Ringwald at her most beautiful. And if you enjoy this film, check out Less Than Zero, another gloomy but solid (& underrated) '80s film. The WORST '80s film is Bright Lights, Big City - don't say I didn't warn you!

This is, perhaps, the most unintelligible picture I have everseen. The story is dull and uneventful, but that doesn't make it anyeasier to understand.

Andrew McCarthy is Matt, a wealthy college student betrothed to a pristine debutante. When his friend (Ben Stiller) invites him out visit a wild new friend (Patti D'Arbanville), he meets a mysterious girl named Jewel (Molly Ringwald). From the outset, Matt is smitten and Jewel is unimpressed. Days later, Matt drops his fiancee and confesses his love to Jewel. While her interest is waning, Jewel is overwhelmed by his affections and the two begin a passionate affair. Then, Matt discovers Jewel is married, underage and in an abusive relationship. He is in over his head and he briefly begins to alienate himself from Jewel. They reunite quickly, but, shortly thereafter, Matt discovers a devasting revelation: Jewel may have been raped by a handful of men while her husband looked on. Now, there seems to be little hope for either of them to find happiness.

Contrary to popular belief, Molly Ringwald is first-rate in an unexpected role change. In one particularly magnetic scene, Ringwald as Jewel reveals she began smoking as an infant, when her twisted parents held cigarettes to her mouth to watch her inhale. It is Jewel's riveting vulnerability that makes the scene unforgettable. Andrew McCarthy, however, is entirely unlikable as the spoiled Matt, and we never understand his character's obsession for Jewel, nor do we understand his compulsive need to correct her improper speech.

The reason this film misfires in so many ways is that the script is wildly incoherent. Because the relationship isn't motivated by sexual desire, there is no potential for suspense a la "The Postman Always Rings Twice." We never truly understand WHY any character does what he or she does, and the film drifts lifelessly, leaving little hope for viewer satisfaction.

While Molly Ringwald may have faded from the limelight, it was commendable for her to seek out different roles than she portrayed in her very successful alliance with John Hughes. Two of those roles were in excellent pictures: "The Pick-up Artist" and "King Lear." The rest were just awful. "For Keeps?," "Betsy's Wedding," "Strike It Rich?" For these flops she turned down parts in "Pretty Woman" and "Ghost!"

FRESH HORSES is relatively inoffensive, but, at best, it is only occasionally satisfying for die-hard Ringwald fans like myself.

This movie is not that bad. I think this movie is highly underrated. People were probably expecting another "Pretty in Pink." But then this is not a John Hughes film. The music score was great. The characters lacked a little background and the editing can probably be improved a bit. The plot can also use a little twist. But overall, I liked the movie, its simplicity. In the end it brings a heartwarming feeling of knowing someone you cared for and wanted to help has moved on...

First of all, this is NOT the worst movie ever made, nor even the worst movie ever made that was given a budget and some name stars. The worst movie ever made was "Autumn in New York", but that is a different review.

No, this not a great movie, but it is very interesting. And for once, thank God, it doesn't end with everything tied up in a pretty Hollywood bow where everthing works out for everyone. It has a gritty sort of realism that transcends the walk through performances of the stars of the movie. And the scenery works well for the overall feel of the movie, bleak.

More interestingly for me and others of my generation who grew up with the brat pack, this marked the end of these actors forays into trying to do the teenager thing. For Molly Ringwald, she didn't do anything of note again until "The Stand" six years later, and for Andrew McCarthy, well it could be argued that he still hasn't starred in anything of note again (although he probably made some money from "Weekend at Bernies" I & II).

Anyway, probably better to rent than buy, I am only buying it to complete my 80's collection.

'Fresh Horses' tells the tale of two star crossed lovers, Matt Larkin (Andrew McCarthy) and Jewell (Molly Ringwald). Matt is a Cincinnati college student who breaks off his engagement to his wealthy fiancée after he falls for Jewell, a young woman from the backwoods. Though they come from vastly different worlds and share little in common, Larkin is drawn to her. She says she is 20 and escaping from an abusive step father, but later it appears that she is 16 and married. The movie is all about Matt's brooding angst. Does he love her, or does he just want to save her? Is her story true, or is it a trap to make him want to save her?

--------------------------
Jewel: I went through it and it's over, it's done with and I wanna forget about it. I passed out, I musta passed out 'cause I woke up this morning with my clothes every which way and I just straightened myself up and I come right here.
=======================================

When he responds to her harrowing tale by correcting her English, we know the relationship is doomed. The climatic confrontation with Green (Viggo Mortenson), her supposedly depraved backwoods husband, is further evidence. He rudely disparages Green's crude soap carvings of horses (fresh horses?) and acts like a passive aggressive jerk, but then Green correctly points out that he thinks Green isn't good enough for her, but Larkin is too good for her.

----------------------------
Jewel: Yeah, I'm going alright, but I'm going by myself! Don't talk about me, don't even think about me, just do me that favour. You don't want me, I'm used, I'm worn out, I'm bad goods, you can't trust me. Why don't I just go to hell?
=======================================

So, love doesn't conquer all. Maybe it's a more realistic depiction of life, but who wants that in a movie? Who do you root for?

Ben Stiller plays his college friend, Tipton, who is crass, crude, and probably right when he advises Matt to walk away from his diamond in the rough, Jewell.

-----------------------
Tipton: Look, when the horse underneath us drops, we take a fresh one.
===============================

'Fresh Horses' is a bad movie but it's not so spectacularly bad that you can enjoy watching how bad it is. I like Molly Ringwald, but her hair color looks really weird in this film, like some kind of wig that Bozo the Clown would wear. Other than that, the production values and cinematography are great. Lots of really moody atmospheric shots of the back woods, abandoned roller coasters, rail road shacks, and honky tonks. What makes the horse underneath us drop is just the luke warm story, that fizzles instead of sizzles--neither a tragedy of Elizabethian proportions nor a happy ending. Not with a bang, but a whimper...


Molly Ringwald ... Jewel
The Pick-Up Artist (1987) .... Randy Jensen
Pretty in Pink (Special Collector's Edition) (1986) .... Andie Walsh
The Breakfast Club (1985) .... Claire Standish
Sixteen Candles (1984) .... Samantha Baker

Andrew McCarthy ... Matt Larkin
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994) .... Eddie Parker
The Joy Luck Club (1993) .... Ted Jordan
Weekend at Bernie's II (1993) .... Larry Wilson
Jours tranquilles à Clichy (1990) .... Henry Miller
Weekend at Bernie's (1989) .... Larry Wilson
Kansas (1988) .... Wade Corey
Less Than Zero (1987) .... Clay Easton
Mannequin (1987) .... Jonathan Switcher
Pretty in Pink (1986) .... Blane McDonnagh
St. Elmo's Fire (1985) .... Kevin Dolenz

Ben Stiller ... Tipton
Tropic Thunder (2008) .... Tugg Speedman
The Heartbreak Kid (2007) .... Eddie
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006) .... Guitar Center Guy
School for Scoundrels (2006) .... Lonnie
Danny Roane: First Time Director (2006) .... Ben Stiller
Meet the Fockers (2004) .... Greg Focker
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) .... Arturo Mendes
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004) .... White Goodman
Envy (2004) .... Tim Dingman
Starsky & Hutch (2004) .... David Starsky
Along Came Polly (2004) .... Reuben Feffer
Orange County (2002) (uncredited) .... The Firefighter
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) .... Chas Tenenbaum
Zoolander (2001) .... Derek Zoolander
Meet the Parents (2000) .... Gaylord 'Greg' Focker
Black and White (1999/I) .... Mark Clear
Mystery Men (1999) .... Mr. Furious
The Suburbans (1999) .... Jay Rose
Permanent Midnight (1998) .... Jerry Stahl
Your Friends & Neighbors (1998) .... Jerry
There's Something About Mary (1998) .... Ted Stroehmann
The Cable Guy (Full Screen) (1996) .... Sam Sweet / Stan Sweet
Flirting with Disaster (1996) .... Mel Coplin
Reality Bites (1994) .... Michael Grates

I NEED HELP. THIS MOVIE WAS JUST AVERAGE, OK MAYBE BELOW, HOWEVER.. I FELL IN LOVE WITH THE MUSIC FROM THIS MOVIE.. COME TO FIND OUT THERE WAS NEVER A SOUNDTRACK MADE. SO IN ORDER FOR ME TO LISTEN TO THE MUSIC I ENJOY I HAVE TO WATCH THE DARN MOVIE OVER AND OVER.. WHEN THE MOVIE ENDS AS THE CREDIT ROLLS THERE IS A SONG NAME "NO TOMORROW" ITS MY ALL TIME MOST FAVORITE. SOME GUY NAMED GEORGE HAWKINS SINGS IT.. DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW I CAN FIND THIS GUY'S MUSIC? IVE LOOKED HIGH AND LOW, ITS REAL DISAPPOINTING THAT THERE WAS NEVER A SOUNDTRACK, ESPECIALLY SINCE DAVID FOSTER COMPOSED THE MUSIC FOR THIS MOVIE.

I simply can't comprehend the negative reviews this frankly GREAT B movie has generated. Either these reviewers have unbelievably quiet personal lives, or FRESH HORSES hits too close to home for them to enjoy it. Gratefully, my own experience like the one depicted here, is far enough in the past that I can simply love this movie with ennui. The script, far from "incoherent," is stunning. It's the story of a young man on the fast track in life, whose entire value system is overturned when he falls in love with a girl, Jewell, the victim of child abuse and neglect, unlike anyone he has ever been exposed to before. He sees in her a beautiful and talented, unschooled intelligence. He feels compelled to save her from the fate into which she is careening. Little does he know that before he can save her, he must destroy all his own prospects which he has previously taken for granted as though predestined for success.

FRESH HORSES explores the invisible American caste system, the difference between education and intelligence, the connection between social standing and friendship, and the dichotomy of masculine integrity. I am in no way exaggerating when I say, it's Dickensian in its scope.

Several of the negative reviews site "bad acting." I'd love to know what that means. These are all talented, young actors (at the time FRESH HORSES was made) many of whom have become household names. Here's Ben Stiller as Andrew McCarthy's "bad angel," who introduces him to an edgy new lifestyle, then deserts him when he becomes immersed in it. Here's Viggo Mortensen, the first time I was ever aware of him, as Jewel's husband, dangerously underestimated in his shrewd, street-wise intelligence.

I do love the script so much I wish we could see a young Montgomery Cliff and Marilyn Monroe in the lead roles. But I wonder if Marilyn, as spectacular as she looks, could have pulled off the scene with the boldness Molly Ringwald offers when, as Jewel, she breaks up Andrew McCarthy's party in the abandoned shack where they previously kept house?

This was a difficult and powerful role for Molly Ringwald. In my opinion, it's her greatest performance to date. If you don't want your ideas about what you're doing with your life to be challenged, you may prefer to avoid this noir cautionary tale. But far from a "one star" rating, this is the ONLY important film to come out of the "brat pack" series of films from the 1980s.

I was very delighted to see Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy in another movie. I remember "Fresh Horses" from my teenage years, just never got a chance to watch it. When I saw the price Amazon was offering I just couldn't resist the purchase. Speedy deliver as usual and interesting movie.