The Greening of Whitney Brown (2011) Reviews

• Bob, The Horse, drew Me In

  bob-rutzel-12012-01-06

  A somewhat spoiled young Whitney Brown (Hanratti), who was just elected Class President of her High School Class in the city of Philadelphia is told by her parents that her father lost his job and they have to move. She is crushed and doesn't like it one bit. And, they move out to the country, and now all of them will have to start over. This movie is a true sleeper. I saw the promos for this and saw the horse and laughed at what I saw and knew I had to see this movie. I was hoping the funny promo wasn't the only funny thing in it. And, it wasn't. I laughed all the way thru and for me, that is saying a lot. The real winners here are Sammie Hanratti and Bob, the horse . Whitney's grandfather (Kristofferson) says the horse has a mind of his own and is almost human. Her parents played by Brooke Shields and Aidan Quinn were very good as were the rest of the cast. But, they were not the story. Whitney and the horse were. And, it is Bob, the horse, that gets you to LOL first and it's kind of shocking the way that happened. Very funny. You'll have to see for yourself. Whitney is a chatty baby and her incessant chattering was a breath of fresh air until we meet Bob. But, even after that her chatter was welcomed. Her dialogue was quick, funny and right on with her being stranded in the sticks with no friends. Well, except for Bob, the horse, of course. And, her constant chattering was her way of complaining to no one in particular. Well, that is to Bob, who seemed to know and understand more than most humans. Maybe he was almost human. Hard one to figure out. I honestly didn't want this to end. I don't think I have enjoyed a movie this much for the longest time. This delivered a good story and ton of LOLs all the way to the end. Sequels? Hey, I'm there. This is a movie the whole family will enjoy for a long time. As for Miss Hanratti, well the girls will just have to look over their shoulders from time to time. Yes, I mean: the Fannings, Breslins, and the like. This Hanratti person has a presence that could remind one of a young Shirley Temple. Anyway, that is what I came away with. Hey, I 've seen the promos for Shirley Temple they are hawking now. The "not sold in stores" enhanced videos kind of thing. FYI: Bob the Horse is a Gypsy Vanner. To look at this breed right away you might think he is a Clydesdale. If the title left out the word "greening" it might stand a better chance to be seen and appreciated. What would I choose as the title? Why,"Whitney and Bob the Horse" of course. Read The Greening of Whitney Brown this way: The revitalization of Whitney Brown. Now, you got it. (10/10) Violence: No. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.

• Fluffy But Fun Teeny Dramedy

  alan_holloway_22012-01-20

  I didn't really expect much of this film, but liked the trailer. I am an odd 40 plus man who enjoys fluffy teen movies and romcoms when I'm in the right mood, so this looked like it might be fun. Ya know what? It IS fun. The title character could so easily have been a brat, and even at the beginning when she is little miss rich girl she comes across as likable, and I feel this is due to very good casting with a girl who is sweet but not at all sexual or threatening. The basic storyline isn't exactly rocket science, and only differs from similar movies because it has a very lovely horse in it, not to mention the ever reliable Kris Kristofferson. The film is made through the top notch casting, the bubbliness of the lead actress and the delightful way it flows along without asking too much of the viewer or getting at all dull. Watch the trailer, and if that makes you curious give it a go, because it's a good film that should suit the whole family.

• Pleasantly entertaining family movie with a horse.

  TxMike2014-07-21

  I watched this movie for Brooke Shields, I have been seeking out hers that I hadn't seen. Cute and short for her age Sammi Hanratty carries the movie in the title role of Whitney Brown. She is bright, popular, and ambitious, and gets elected as president of her Junior high class. But she is also somewhat spoiled by her wealthy parents, she seems to get what she wants. Until one day dad comes home, he has lost his job, they are broke. They have to move away from Philadelphia and Whitney naturally protests, but not in a whiny, mean way, just disappointed that she has to leave her school and friends. They move away to a country house that her grandfather owns but is vacant. There Whitney meets the horse, and soon has a different perspective on what is valuable. She also gets to know her grandfather. A good family movie and young Hanratty does a good job in the lead role. Brooke Shields is the mom Joan Brown, Aidan Quinn is the dad Henry Brown, and the grandfather is played well by Kris Kristofferson as Dusty Brown.

• horrible and annoying young actor

  rightwingisevil2012-01-19

  i just can't believe that the casting job would be THAT difficult to find a better and more likable young actor to play this her-titled movie. she actually just looked like a brat, a spoiled, heartless, feeling-less shallow materialistic teen. and i also couldn't believe in that particular school, girls were so annoyingly disgusting and so formulaic portrayed in such typical Hollywood movie. neither could i believe anything happened in this movie even it claimed to be a comedy. father lost his job, then immediately declared he's bankrupted, only this scenario i can believe, because it's typical American. when you got a job with a steady huge income, the whole family members would engage in a shopping spree day in and day out, but once the job was cut, then there's nothing left right away. it's the American consumer paradise funded on regular incomes. this movie cast two adult actors who i like a lot, but the girl who plays their daughter just like a nice soup ruined by a tiny fly. what a waste. and the comedy is still trying to have this family full of fun? it only happens in the movie.

• A family comedy with a charismatic protagonist and conveys important messages of true friendships, resume, love and appreciation of feelings and what matters in life

  fernandoschiavi2015-03-17

  Whitney Brown is the kind of film that does not bring anything new to a genre already explored countless times in movies. Like many others, the film deals with the always magical interaction between humans and animals, especially horses. And this interaction invests again in question city versus countryside and all the changes caused by the drastic change that oblige someone to review many of its concepts, emphasizing what's really important in life. Peter Skillman Odiorne - who had previously only worked as an executive producer for Under Still Waters (2008), as editor of the short film Patching Cabbage (2003), and as assistant editor on Farmer & Chase (1997) - directorial debut this dramatic comedy, and ends up showing his lack of experience to constantly break the rhythm of the film, hampered by an issue with many continuity errors, and a script that features parties without explanation, parallel stories without a proper purpose and having forgotten characters during plot. But the script by Gail Gilchriest disappoint especially when not knowing exploit the dramatic potential proposed. The same writer who had treated the interaction between animals and humans in My Dog Skip (2000), this time cannot excite and involve as before. The main asset of the plot is in its cast. Experienced names like Aidan Quinn ( Frankenstein (1994)) and Brooke Shields (TV series Hannah Montana (2007-2009)), increase the credibility of the plot. The film introduces us to our protagonist and the life she had since birth. We see only the private school attended by the elite of Philadelphia. At school there are "social groups" characterized by "nerds" and the "popular". When her father loses his job, there is a definite shift in the world of a teenager when she needs to move to the countryside with his parents. From that moment, they all had to adapt to new life. While her father Henry tries to get a new job, the mother of Whitney, Joan (Brooke Shields) have to cook again, and the girl herself and learns things simple gestures, like milking a cow, learn to sew their own clothes and give more values friendship and family. True friendship she learns from the horse Bob, and it is through him that she just approaching his grandfather, who had no coexistence, and their parents. But even with the good cast, let's start talking about the synopsis, which in itself is a cliché, in order to excite and to manipulate the audience. The problem is that it cannot. Important parts of the plot and that would yield the best moments of emotion, that would justify the presence of important names of the cast, there are hardly any. Much more could be extracted from Whitney relationship with their parents as well as the relationship of the girl with his newly discovered grandfather. But is the relationship between the father and grandfather of the girl, we expected to have important scenes from the beginning. All of the relationship between the two is poorly explored. We only know that the two have never been close, and that his grandfather moved away from the family for two years since his wife had died. The relationships between all of the family could have been much amplified, and not just focused on the relationship with the horse Bob Whitney. We also have a relationship with your friends Whitney of Philadelphia which is a passage very quickly and there's no time to be involved with all to justify the actions of the last 20 minutes of plot. And what of the new friends at the camp? We have some scenes where Whitney prejudice suffered by the students of the place and could not make friends. When she decides to dress more appropriately to fit in, she gets an approximation, but after intentionally to imply that their new friends were taunting them Durate a party at the farm of one of them, they are simply forgotten script. It is one of the parallel stories without conclusion. At that same school in the field occurs something unexplained. Instead of students learning mathematics, chemistry and physics, they learn to take cow milk within the classroom and sew. All passages within the school, are all always sewing or doing tasks of rural life. And all this for later in the film, in a scene to show her their rich friends who did not mind not wearing a costume designer, but done by herself. And what about the farm where they moved? There, fish and carrots grow rapidly, and fresh blackberries Joan are also seen in abundance to create a sub-plot to the mother of Whitney. To make matters worse, in a deserted place and away from everything, dozens of trucks start lining up to buy these blackberries. To arrive at a distant site like that, the driver would have to travel for a few hours. And to buy blackberries? And not only that. And the horse was injured and suddenly gets up and starts running better than before to let her friend on the train heading to Philadelphia? What about a horse running through a city and comes coincidentally at the exact moment the ball to help their human friend? And the horse back to the field on the bench tiny car? Finally, we have the fact Whitney entering your school prom without any difficulty, and she was no longer a student at the school for months. Anyway, the movie is not anything that we have not seen before, with a script without dramatic arches, without rhythm and unusual situations and many continuity errors and script. As movie is must in many ways, but as a message for the family, especially for children, is quite valid. A family comedy with a charismatic protagonist and conveys important messages of true friendships, resume, love and appreciation of feelings and what matters in life.