Detail-challenged 'Dolphin' still tugs at the heartstrings
Morgan Freeman has carved out a nice Hollywood niche for himself as the sagely voice of wisdom in the movies - until he gets to Charles Martin Smith's good-intentioned, kid-centric family drama "Dolphin Tale."
In it, he plays Dr. Cameron McCarthy, a wise and canny man who accepts the difficult challenge of creating a prosthetic device to serve as a wounded dolphin's amputated tail section.
All the way through his part of the movie, Freeman's character keeps referring to the marine mammal as a "fish."
As most kids know, this is like calling a fruit bat a "bird."
What's more, not a single other character bothers to correct him.
Not Dr. Clay Haskett (Harry Connick Jr) who runs a Florida marine life hospital. Not his precocious, freckle-faced daughter Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff). Not the 11-year-old taciturn hero Sawyer Nelson (Nathan Gamble). Not even Hazel's know-it-all, seen-it-all, seasoned sailor grandfather Reed Haskett (Kris Kristofferson).
Incorrectly identifying a dolphin as a fish may not be a monstrous error, but it illustrates the filmmakers' lack of attention to detail, especially in a fact-based movie.
Take a key plot point when Dr. Haskett and his board of directors are forced to sell the hospital to a hotel entrepreneur because a hurricane damages it so severely that they can't afford to repair it.
Did somebody forget to buy property insurance? In Florida? On the coast? During hurricane season?
When "Dolphin Tale" does work, it shows us how kids derive hope and inspiration from things and events that often fly - or swim - under the adult radar.
Sawyer is a terrible student, unable to focus on anything but helicopters and his older cousin Kyle (Austin Stowell), a state swimming champion about to ship off for a tour of duty in the war.
Stuck in summer school with dull English instructor Mr. Doyle (Ray McKinnon), Sawyer remains withdrawn and unengaged.
Until he spots the dolphin.
It has been beached by a crab trap wrapped so tightly around its tail that we later find out it has shut off circulation, forcing amputation.
Sawyer touches the dolphin and cuts the trap away. A magical bond between the boy and the dolphin is created. Later in the marine hospital, the dolphin only responds to Sawyer's voice when Dr. Haskett and his staff try to feed it.
Sawyer saves the dolphin's life. They name her "Winter."
Lorraine Nelson (Ashley Judd, segueing into her hot mom period) is so amazed that Sawyer has connected with Winter, she lets him skate out of summer school. But she asks Mr. Doyle to still give him English credit <I>for helping Winter.</I>
As I said, not a lot of attention to real detail here.
"Dolphin Tale," written by newcomer Noam Dromi and Karen "A Walk to Remember" Janszen, exists to be a feel-good movie. It succeeds.
It hits its heart-melding stride after the kids come up with the idea to have a media day at the hospital to garner some attention and donations to keep it going - and maybe pay for Winter's tail.
The prosthetic-equipped dolphin becomes a symbol of determination and strength for humans with similar injuries, including cousin Kyle, back from the war in a wheelchair.
Heavy-handed? Sure. But that's nothing next to the little girl who emerges from a van and climbs into a wheelchair after traveling 80 miles to see Winter and her new tail.
"Look, she's like me!" the little girl exclaims.
In that moment, "Dolphin Tale" jumps through its highest hoop and almost compensates for its forced, by-rote cheering of the crowds, Dr. McCarthy's "fish" mistake, and Mr. Doyle giving Sawyer summer school credit for his "work" at the hospital.
Almost.
Then there are fascinating clips of the real Winter at the tail end. Don't miss them.
<b>“Dolphin Tale”</b>
★ ★ ½
Starring: Nathan Gamble, Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Kris Kristofferson
Directed by: Charles Martin Smith
Other: A Warner Bros. release. Rated PG. 113 minutes