Director: Joel Paul Reisig
Writer: George Saunders (Screenplay)
Starring: Richard Karn, Jason London, Jo Ambrosia, Kristin Mellian, Teri Lee, Kristen Ryda, Rachel Sowers
Plot: It’s a new year at summer horse-riding camp but everything is different this time—a new head counselor, new friends to make, and to spice things up, the ranch hand (Richard Karn) has a crush on the head riding instructor (Terri Lee)! When he is too nervous to reveal his feelings, the campers put competition aside and rally together to help him win over her heart while building friendships that will last a lifetime.
Runtime: 1 Hour 21
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Coming-of-Age 101
Story: Horse Camp: A Love Tail starts as we see Kimberly (Ambrosia) return to a horse camp Black River Ranch, one of the most prestigious ones for young women. She wants to reconnect with the old friends, only they barely remember her, to add to the drama the head rider Stacy (Ryda) finds herself replaced by Bonnie Lightyear (Lee) a rider with a huge amount of experience.
As the summer continues, the girls get to learn the valuable life experiences they needed to learn about at the life as they look to step into adulthood.
Thoughts on Horse Camp: A Love Tail
Characters – Kimberly is returning to horse camp for the first time in years, she wants the friendship to once had with the other girls and doesn’t take long to fit back in. Riley is the popular one who believes she is better than the rest of the girls, she learns quickly how to enjoy herself with the other campers. Jerry works on the camp and falls for the new experience trainer and needs the campers to help him make his move, Bonnie is the experience rider that is one of the best in the world, she is her to teach not only the instructors but the campers, while catching the eye of Jerry. Stacy is the social media celebrity that has been waiting for the chance to be head rider, not happy about it, but learns from Bonnie through the summer. One of the few weaknesses of this film is the pure number of characters we do meet, we have too much going on with the different characters certain characters don’t get to see the growth they require.
Performances – We have a big cast in this movie, nobody stands out above the rest of the cast, while nobody looks out of place, everybody in the film is good through the film and showing us the different problems they are facing and chemistry they have between themselves.
Story – The story here follows the members of a prestigious horse camp, from the owner, counselors, instructors down to the campers as they spend the summer here learning about life and finding directions in their own lives. This is a nice tale about learning who you are in a location that encourages people to come together in life, through summer camps. We do have a lot going on with the pure number of characters we have, which doesn’t always give all the characters enough time to shine. We do get the overall lesson about doing the right things in life, learning to better themselves for the future.
Settings – The film is set entirely on the horse camp, it shows the location everyone will be spending the summer away from the busy life.
Scene of the Movie – Learning the lessons.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We do have too many characters who could get lost in the shuffle of the story.
Final Thoughts – This is a good coming of age movie, it does show us just how important life can be for everyone around you, even if we do end up with a couple too many characters.
Overall: Enjoyable coming of age story.
