Sunday evening and yet another weekend has come and gone. BUT…any weekend spent with family and friends is a great one to me (and is exactly what happened) PLUS….the benefit of getting to see a new theatrical release to boot, as I always want to keep people informed as much as possible. So, with that stated, I give you this weeks’ review of the one new release I WAS able to catch….”Dolphin Tale 2″.
SEE THE TRAILER HERE
In this sequel to the 2011 original, “Dolphin Tale“, and featuring returning director Charles Martin Smith, this story starts us out several years after the events of the first outing, as rescued dolphin Winter has remained the star attraction at the Clearwater Marine Hospital in Florida. Since the facility’s ultimate benefactor, businessman Phillip Hordern (Tom Nowicki), has turned the Hospital into a full blown aquarium, thousands come to see the amazing, transformed animal and her unique prosthetic tail, made real courtesy of Dr. Cameron McCarthy (Morgan Freeman). At the center of all of this are the original group from the Hospital, comprised of its owner Dr. Clay Haskett (Harry Connick, Jr.), his daughter Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff), Clay’s father Reed (Kris Kristofferson), and the head trainer Kat (Betsy Landin). Also in the mix is Winter’s savior, Sawyer Nelson (Nathan Gamble) and his older cousin Kyle Connellan (Austin Stowell), who himself has had to deal with rehab from a crippling injury. With Sawyer and Hazel now high-school age, they have both taken on much larger roles at the complex, leading many of the shows featuring Winter as well as some of the administrative tasks involving other rescued animals that arrive. Also, we find Winter has even been given a surrogate mother in another rescued dolphin, named Panama. Through all of this, Sawyer’s own mother, Lorraine Nelson (Ashley Judd), has supported him unequivocally since first seeing the genuine passion he has for Winter in the first outing (albeit after some SERIOUS hesitancy). As everything seems to be moving along smoothly, an unexpected event occurs that not only shakes all of the team members to the core, but also has an unexpectedly deep impact on Winter, whose behavior begins to radically change and deteriorate. While this in itself is a concern as everyone is trying to find answers, Hordern starts expressing worries about his investments into the facility while another potential roadblock in the from of a USDA inspector, George (director Charles Martin Smith!), who not only advises of multiple violations at the facility, but also issues an ultimatum to Clay indicating what needs to be done to correct the situation with Winter, otherwise having to face her being moved away to another location. With the pressure of this building, Sawyer is offered an educational opportunity by Dr. Aslan (Carlos Gomez) that would seem to be the next logical step in his efforts to grow in knowledge about marine mammals, but the time commitment to it would take him away from not only Winter, but also from all those he has grown to care about, initially unbeknownst to him that Hazel’s feeling towards him in particular may have begun to grow more deep than even he realizes, as indicated by multiple moments throughout the story. Added to THIS is that the initial solution to the whole issue with Winter seems to be coming about, via a rescued dolphin named Mandy, but circumstances prevent this from occurring. With time running out, people’s nerves and emotions going through every possible phase, and a crucial decision for Sawyer continually looming, another potential resolution presents itself in the form of an unexpected arrival at the Hospital….a rescued baby female dolphin, named Hope, who becomes the key to Winter’s (and EVERYONE’S) desires to see everything get turned around. The process becomes down to several pivotal moments that will determine the outcome of it all and how it will affect the lives of all those involved. Per usual, more details would be spoiling things, and I just won’t do that to you, so……..that, as they say, is that.
This is the second weekend in a row for a couple of film-related situations, as 1.) this is the second family-friendly, good-hearted, feel-good stories I have viewed in as many weeks, and 2.) both projects had Ashley Judd involved in them. But, more on that later. I loved this film. I must admit I only saw the FIRST one two weeks ago, so the story was fresh in my mind and therefore was nice to see its continuation without the 3 years that actually occurred in between releases! And I think that also kept me more emotionally involved with this story as well, since the beauty of the work the Hospital had done and the heart of all of the people involved to perform the amazing work they did with Winter was still echoing in my own heart, having learned about it so recently, again, via the first film. This is a nice, straight-forward delivery, meant perhaps for a younger overall audience, but can honestly be enjoyed by adults as well. And even if you DO basically KNOW the outcome of the tale, for me, that doesn’t take away the resonance of what is being portrayed. I was frankly amazed to see how much the two young actors and stars, Zuehlsdorff and Gamble, had literally grown up SINCE the last film! And their evolving maturity, I thought, aided this story a lot, still giving it the youthful innocence, while still putting them in situations, decision-wise and more personal, that were honestly very adult. I guess it simply increased my feeling about the reality and authenticity of the story. Ashley Judd once again delivers a believable performance as Sawyer’s mother, and I don’t mean that lightly or flippantly. There is just something about the way she portrays this simple role (and that’s is also not meant in ANY negative way) that makes me BELIEVE she actually IS Sawyer’s Mom. I cannot put it into words really, maybe it’s just the straight-forward delivery of the lines or the subtleness of her overall performance, but judge for yourself if and when you see the film. The supporting players were just as solid this time around as in the original, with Harry Connick Jr.’s Clay still a man of deep passion and constant struggle with the decisions he has to make, while still remaining open to what his daughter and others around him are feeling as well. Morgan Freeman is good in pretty much ANY character you give him, and he always manages to find a way to make you laugh. Stowell, Landin, Nowicki, and Kristofferson all deliver well in their smaller overall parts as well. And a couple of scenes/appearances with the “Soul Surfer” herself, Bethany Hamilton, were very apropos. And obviously, the real stars here are of course Winter and Hope whom it all hinges on. I still get emotional when it comes to these beautiful creatures (bucket list item to swim with some!), much less such an amazing true story like this one, and the addition of Hope was that much MORE potent. Also completely entertaining is the HILARIOUS, totally crazy pelican Rufus, who steals more than a few moments here!! Always the perfect bit of comedy relief at the right moments. Add to it all a wonderful soundtrack by Rachel Portman plus several original end credit songs, one of which is sung very well BY actress Cozi Zuehlsdorff, and you have another positive film I feel is most worth seeing.
As always, this is all for YOUR consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
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