Fresh Horses (1988)

Sadly Over-hyped

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

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.

A lot of the scenes were filmed at the University of Cincinnati. As a student there in the late 1980s, I enjoyed watching the movie for a nostalgic look at the campus. It's completely different today.The movie itself isn't awful. It contains some interesting early performances by Viggio Mortenson and Ben Stiller. But the film shows the limitations of stars Andrew McCarthy and Molly Ringwald, and stands as evidence why the young stars were never able to find great success playing adult roles. McCarthy lacks the emotional range to give this role the complexity it requires. Ringwald also has a difficult time making the transition from sweet roles in films like Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles to the sexy temptress in Fresh Horses.

"When you become our age, it's harder and harder to make friends" says Tipton as he loyally stands by Matt. Jeez, with friends like that, it's no wonder this lame movie got made - no one was brave enough to tell any of the cast how bad it was. Didn't any of them watch the dailies? So, maybe at some point in his career Andrew managed to rustle up major chemistry, but in this movie, he manages to deliver the eternal best friend chemistry instead of the lost in lust type. He's very likable, but I don't think that's what we were going for, and he is just miscast. And Molly delivered some of her lines like she was reading them for the first time from the teleprompter ("I'm used" she says in the same tone she would use to announce "pink is my color") instead of part innocent/part femme fatale. I don't think either of them was getting the coaching they needed.The tension between the college and the surroundings was interesting for a while, but difficult to fathom. There aren't many universities that I can think of (maybe it's a Midwest thing?) that are so close to the swamps of Deliverance.When this movie came out, I really wanted to see it, because I loved St. Elmo's Fire. I wasn't able to because of school and work. I'm glad I missed it and saw it on cable, although I wasted quite some time waiting for the good part...waiting, waiting, waiting. Maybe there was a good story there at some point, but it didn't show up on the screen.

I think of all Molly's movies, "Fresh Horses" has to be the best. I never forgot this movie or Ringwald's "Jewel", not only does she look absolutely stunning in this, but her acting is perfection.This movie is extremely underrated. One reviewer stated this movie is haunting. It is. There is no good reason WHY it is but hundreds of movies with this type of plot have been made and this one really stands out, it has a dreamlike feel to it. The characters simply jump out at you, the movie gets 10 of 10 for scenery and atmosphere, there's a compelling ethereal quality about this movie and Ringwald's Jewel and even though this was not her most popular movie it was her best hands down.