If I Could Ride – Movie Review
Director: Shawn Welling
Writer: Nathan Carliner Goldman, Robert Jaurehui (Screenplay)
Writer: Don Miller (Story)
Cast
- Alexis Arnold (Sanitatum)
- Tom Vera (Narco Sub)
- Eva Igo (The Last Astronaut)
- Michael Anthony Coppola (First Signal)
Plot: A young girl’s dream is to ride horses, but she can’t because of a disability. She meets Bridget, the reigning equestrian champion, who suffers an injury, and asks her to compete in her place at the next competition. As she goes through physical therapy and begins training, the two girls must come together to learn the importance of friendship, family, following your dreams, and never giving up.
Runtime: 2 Hours 25 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: If I Could Ride starts as we meet Jodie (Arnold) a disabled girl who dreams of riding a horse. She looks up to Bridget (Igo) a champion rider who is facing her own pressure to perform. Jodie is battling through physical therapy to get her chance to ride a horse. Meanwhile, Bridget finds the pressure getting to her, leading to her being seriously injured in a horse-riding accident.
As the two maturing teenagers see their lives changing, they find themselves becoming friends in their recovery process. Jodie is from a family that is always looking for hope, while Bridget is from a family with high expectations.
Verdict on If I Could Ride
If I Could Ride is a drama following two teenage girls that have come from different backgrounds that see their worlds collide. They are both dealing with major injuries stopping them from riding horses. At first, they don’t get along, but they soon start to bond over their love of horses and their determination to recover.
This is an overly long movie that brings us a story about coming together and helping each other. It has a message we have seen before, but for some reason, it ends up playing out for 2 and half hours. This doesn’t help keep us as engaged as it should, despite having a strong concept behind the story. I do keep returning to the length of the movie, but I honestly think if it was trimmed down, we could have had a much more enjoyable experience.
Final Thoughts – If I Could Ride is an overly long by-the-books coming-of-age drama.
