Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story
DreamWorks Distribution | Release Date: October 21, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
15
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
New York PostKyle Smith
Thebest sports movies aren't really about sports. Dreamer has a few thundering horse races, but its finest moments are beautifully still ones, like the one in which a little girl peeks through a fence to give a lame filly a Popsicle. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneJessica Reaves
Russell, who looks younger with each movie, holds his own against the formidable force that is Dakota Fanning. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Mom (Elisabeth Shue) suffers from the fatal movie ailment of being so underwritten she's practically see-through. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Nicely run through its paces by John Gatins, who also wrote the screenplay (it's his directing debut), Dreamer is, not surprisingly, about daring to dream the big dreams. It's about family, and faith, and facing hard times together. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A well-made use of familiar materials. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
Sometimes stumbles into the trap of excessive predictability. But its amiable (and largely fictionalized) heart tugging still makes for charming all-ages entertainment. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
The low-key charm of its setting underscores the easygoing performances of a relaxed, well-matched cast. Kristofferson doesn't oversell the grizzled grandpa routine or talk down to the little girl. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Here's a case of clichés transmuted, for the most part, into stirring entertainment.
70
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
This is as corny as it sounds, and yet not half as cloying and sentimental as you expect. At the end of the day, the horse may win the race, but the fate of the American heartland looms large and unresolved. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
It manages to be a watchable, even enjoyable movie about and for girls, and in our world of candy-coated sparkly pink c---, that's a rare and commendable thing. Read full review
63
USA TodayMike Clark
Fanning and Russell make this watchable family entertainment, if not necessarily at today's prices. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Fanning and Russell are a perfect, sweet-and-sour pair. And, of course, the horse is absolutely beautiful - which, in the end, is what this all comes down to, anyway. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Just rent the kid ''National Velvet" when you get home. That movie's proof you don't need a true story to be inspired. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Recycles just about every sentimental ploy and cliche from a raft of horse racing movies. Read full review
60
VarietyJoe Leydon
Modestly engaging but mostly unexceptional. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
There are no surprises in Dreamer--except that for all its visible and unselfconscious schmaltz, it's actually pretty enjoyable. Read full review
60
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Follows a formula, but the formula, when applied with skill and intelligence, as it is here, is pretty much foolproof. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyGregory Kirschling
One more feel-great sports movie with a teen-poetry title and Kurt Russell will have himself a trilogy. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
A kind of "Seabiscuit"-lite. Read full review
58
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Heartstrings are pulled mercilessly in Dreamer. Read full review
50
Village VoiceBen Kenigsberg
Adults will be restless as stabled bucks, but even children may need unusually high Ritalin doses to slog through the visual and dramatic indifference on display. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
If you're a little girl in the Lisa Simpson mold, for whom the greatest wish-fulfillment in the world would be to have your own pony, then Dreamer just might be for you. Otherwise, no. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Dreamer is a kids' movie. It offers the simple black-and-whites of innocence, with no grays to add complexity. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
I was not disappointed by Dreamer, the most dishonest movie I've seen in a while. Nobody gets a fatal disease before the end credits, but every other clich? is exploited in this fabric of impossibilities, nonsense, stereotypes and shameless tear-jerking. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Kurt Russell and Kris Kristofferson, both graceful and naturalistic actors, are the best things going in this formulaic drama. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
As a sports drama -- a genre that's gotten entirely too much play lately -- "Dreamer" is singularly unexciting. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
It canters along, content to follow the Rules of Cute and Fuzzy Horse Movies. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jennie Punter
Certainly not a stinker. Yet despite its squeaky-clean appearance, this family flick has a pervasive and decidedly stale aroma. Read full review
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