Secretariat (film)

As of June 2020, the film holds a 63% approval rating on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 154 reviews with an average rating of 6.11/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Rousing, heartwarming, and squarely traditional, Secretariat offers exactly what you'd expect from an inspirational Disney drama – no more, no less."[9] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[11]

Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert gives the film a four out of four stars saying that "...this whole movie feels authentic".[12] Hannah Goodwyn of Christian Broadcasting Network gave Secretariat a "Jumbo Popcorn" rating, saying: "Though many may consider Seabiscuit as the preeminent horse-racing film, Secretariat beats it by lengths."[13]

Film critic Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com created some controversy with his review of the film, writing that, although he "enjoyed the film immensely," that didn't "stop [him] from believing that in its totality Secretariat is a work of creepy, half-hilarious master-race propaganda almost worthy of Leni Riefenstahl, and all the more effective because it presents as a family-friendly yarn about a nice lady and her horse." He cited what he felt was the possible xenophobic undercurrent to the film, as well as its 'unpleasant' and 'stereotypical' presentation of non-white characters as justification for his theory.[14] In response, fellow critic Roger Ebert posted that O'Hehir's review of Secretariat was "so bizarre I cannot allow it to pass unnoticed. I don't find anywhere in Secretariat the ideology he discovers there."[15] Bill Nack, the author of the book the film is based on, pointed out that Pancho Martin's verbal attack on Laurin before the Kentucky Derby was not intended to create an image of Martin as 'evil' or 'vaguely terrorist-flavored,' as O'Hehir claimed in his review.[14] The film lifted Martin's diatribes against Laurin from Nack's book, which were a transcription of Martin's actual words as recorded by Nack. Nack wondered who O'Hehir could claim as a source to say that Martin wasn't boastful.[15] Ron Turcotte, who rode Secretariat to victory, said about Martin's portrayal in the film: "It wasn't that way."[16] Conservative media personality Rush Limbaugh also took issue with O'Hehir's review.[17] In response to Ebert, O'Hehir wrote that he was being hyperbolic: "My hyperbole in the Secretariat review was supposed to be funny, and also to provoke a response."[15]

Bill Christine, a former long-time racing writer for the Los Angeles Times, pointed out that the film made some significant departures from Secretariat's actual history. These include:

• The film makes no mention of Riva Ridge, a Chenery-owned horse that had won the 1972 Kentucky Derby and Belmont, and helped keep Meadow Stable afloat. According to Christine, but for Riva Ridge's career, Chenery might not have even owned Secretariat by the time he turned three.
• Christine called the portrayal of several people, including Pancho Martin and Ogden Phipps, "cartoonish".
• The film leads viewers to believe that Sham won the Wood Memorial, a major prep race then held two weeks before the Derby. In reality, that race was won by Angle Light. Chenery's most significant conflict in the run-up to the Derby was not with Phipps, but instead with Edwin Whittaker, the owner of Angle Light (a horse also trained by Laurin).[18]

Steve Haskin, a sportswriter for The Blood-Horse, had some of the same issues, particularly the omission of Riva Ridge and the staging of the Wood Memorial. He also added: "Although the horses who played Secretariat did not capture the majesty and physical presence of Big Red, the equine stars did well enough, considering there isn't a horse alive who could have done justice to him."[19]

The film opened in third place at the box office in its opening weekend, grossing $4 million on opening day and $12,694,770 over the three-day weekend, just falling behind The Social Network and Life as We Know It. The film had an average of $4,132 from 3,072 locations. In its second weekend, the film held extremely well with only a 27% slide to $9.3 million and finishing fourth for a $3,032 average from 3,072 theaters. It then held up even better in its third weekend, slipping only 25% to just over $7 million and finishing sixth for a $2,254 average from 3,108 theaters. The film was a relative box office success, grossing $60 million by the end of its run.[4] In the United Kingdom, the film was released on December 4, 2010, with no promotion and was withdrawn from most UK cinemas after just one week.

Secretariat was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on DVD, as well as a 2-disc Blu-ray & DVD combo pack on January 30, 2011.[20] Bonus features on the DVD will include: Deleted scenes and a director introduction. The Blu-ray bonuses include a look at how the racing scenes were filmed, an interview with Penny Chenery, and a profile of Secretariat's 1973 Belmont race.[20]