Fresh Horses

Fresh Horses

Fresh Horses

The title is derived from a line in the movie relating to getting a fresh horse under you when the one you are riding is worn out. It is a reference to getting a new girlfriend when you get tired of the one you have been with. Andrew McCarthy is 20-something Engineering student Matt Larkin in Cincinnatti. He has just become engaged to a wealthy but otherwise rather dull girl in a reception that looks like a big deal for the family. His good buddy is Ben Stiller as Tipton who gets Matt to go to this house out in the country where a lady informally has people over for relaxation, food, and drinks. There Matt encounters Molly Ringwald as Jewel, an intelligent but undereducated young lady who tells him she is 20, but some rumors later say she is only 16. Other rumors say she is married. Matt has an instant attraction to Jewel. I believe this movie was billed as a followup to "Pretty in Pink", a 1986 movie with the two main actors here. Both McCarthy and Ringwall impress me more than I thought they would, each created good characters in what turned out to be, for me, a rather ordinary movie. Viggo Mortensen, already about 30, has a small but important role as Green. SPOILERS. Meeting Jewel made Matt realize that he didn't really want to marry the girl he was with, and she did not take the breakup very well. It turned out that Jewel really was married, to Green, she says as a way to get away from her stepfather. Matt goes overboard to help Jewel get out of her situation, but it is never clear that Jewel was being honest with him. After Jewel ultimately rejects Matt's love, he graduates and goes off to graduate school "up north." They have a chance encounter a year later, at an outdoor event at night, Jewel is with a new guy who seems very nice, she moves close to Matt and whispers in his ear, "Thank you" .

This movie is really only for those who were/are serious fans of either Molly Ringwald or Andrew McCarthy. The storyline is implausible and the characters are woefully underdeveloped. McCarthy stars as a young man named Matt who is engaged to marry his socialite girlfriend, but scraps those plans when he meets Jewel(Ringwald). The film follows Matt as he tries to figure out who exactly Jewel is and what secrets she might be hiding. For her part, Ringwald does a decent job. Her southern accent isn't overdone or ridiculous, though it is a bit odd. To her credit, she believably portrays a character that is totally unlike any of those in her previous movies. McCarthy, on the other hand, seems like a reincarnation of every part I've ever had the displeasure of seeing him in. He wanders through the film aimlessly and seems totally disinterested the whole way through. Overall, not a bad effort on Ringwald's part, but I would only recommend watching this movie if you happen to catch it on cable.

I'm not sure why I've watched this movie 4 or 5 times. The plot isn't particularly believable or intriguing. What has always hooked me is the eerie winter landscape seen throughout, the barren woods of Ohio and Kentucky. It's definitely atmospheric, and at times even haunting. The final scene at the ice skating rink is kind of sad, too.

One of the most bittersweet movie endings of all time. Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy have since both slid off the front pages but both give great performances in this movie. A powerful, powerful movie about young people that have to make big decisions.

This is an excellent film. The acting is wonderful by all the principals and the story is very believable. This would be a good film for a high school discussion group as it contains many themes: marrying too young, mixing of social classes, infatuation instead of love, etc. If you like either Andrew McCarthy or Molly Ringwald then see this film as they shine. 8/10

a particularly haunting movie, especially for most of us who remember what it was like to be young, naive, and in a relationship that we wanted to work, but somehow intuitively knew wouldn't/couldn't, a relationship we knew had too little common ground. The looks that pass between the lead characters when he corrects her grammar are revelatory.

reading the reviews of this movie is odd, the movie divides opinion so completely, with either very high marks or low one. maybe this is because the two leads are cast almost against type, or rather as parodies of their type in other brat pack movies.Yes they are troubled, as in their brat pack roles, but here neither is presented entirely sympathetically and their troubles are not successfully resolved. the film is an unnerving take on the familiar themes of 'pretty in pink' etc. but where as those movies establish a feel good atmosphere, this one establishes a downbeat and well rather miserable one. I am not selling the movie am I? but actually i love it, even the rain and the industrial landscapes. It seems to me that the movie focuses upon a short time in two young peoples lives and that moment is significant to each for different reasons. to me that final scene when they meet each other and have both moved on describes perfectly that sense of lost possibilities that cant be defined because they haven't happened but are felt. Essentially, mccarthy and ringwald throughout the movie have every reason not to be together, they differ in every respect, and eventually these reasons do separate them, but this sensation of what if? ie what if they had stayed together and learned to be what the other wants, that sensation remains hovering over the movies conclusion. I think the movie perfectly describes the conflict between will and desire, and leaves the characters, well at least mccarthy, unsatisfied at the end - knowing that he has failed in some way. In this respects it is an unusual movie and one that is well worth watching.