All Hat Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
An ex-con returns to his rural Ontario roots and outwits a corrupt and wealthy thoroughbred owner trying to take over a slew of local farms. Ray Dokes, a charming ex-ballplayer, returns from jail to discover the rural landscape of his childhood transformed by urban development. A film noir reminiscent of the stories of Elmore Leonard, ALL HAT is adapted from the novel by Brad Smith; Smith also penned the screenplay. Determined to stay out of trouble, Ray heads to the farm of his old friend Pete Culpepper, a crusty Texas cowboy who trains losing racehorses and whose debts are growing faster than his corn. Sonny Stanton, gambling addict and spoiled heir to a thoroughbred dynasty, is in the process of buying up an entire concession of farmland to build a casino and golfing resort, and the only one brave enough to stand in the way of Sonny is Etta Parr, Ray's old flame, who might be willing to forgive Ray if it wasn't for her pride and common sense. The situation is a minefield, one Ray is determined to avoid. He hooks up with Chrissie, a sexy, sassy and talented jockey and steers clear of Sonny. But when a ten-million-dollar thoroughbred goes missing from the Stanton Stables, Sonny pushes things too far and forces the sale of the community's remaining farms. Ray reacts by coming up with a plan to stop Sonny in his tracks and right a few wrongs in the process. The scheme is unlikely and audacious; the players are as unpredictable as nitroglycerin. One false move and Ray will land back in jail. And the smart money is against him.
| Luke Kirby | Ray Dokes |
| Keith Carradine | Pete Culpepper |
| Ernie Hudson | Jackson Jones |
| David Alpay | Paulie Stanton |
| Noam Jenkins | Sonny Stanton |
| Joel S. Keller | Dean Calder |
| Graham Greene | Jim Burns |
| Gary Farmer | Billy Caan |
| Stephen McHattie | Earl Stanton |
| David Gardner | Homer Parr |
| Lorne Brass | Dan Rockwell |
| Michael Mahonen | Steve Allman |
| Tony Rannelli | Juan Romano |
| Nigel Hamer | Lawyer #1 |
| Doug Murray | Lawyer #2 |
6.30 out of 10 (40 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Likable but forgettable
posted on 30 Aug 2009The plot summary on IMDb for this film is more aspiration than actuality. it's overstated and the film doesn't really match the description. Although the film does have some humorous lines and some horses, it is more of a drama than a comedy or western.The acting, filming, and sound are all fine. The film has nice scenic locations and a solid cast of decent actors who seem to do their best with what they're given. Even the overall story had potential.The major problem with this film is that the story elements aren't pulled together as well as they could be. There are multiple on-going story lines but none really go too deep. And, information seems to be missing. As such the film just felt very choppy; a bit of a story here and a bit of a story there and by the end you get a larger, albeit incomplete, picture. Kind of like using high quality silk to make a poorly woven fabric with a bunch of frayed ends.
Can the little people win?
posted on 30 Aug 2009A classic tale of the little people vs the big 'uns. It is set in a community that could be anywhere in rural North America under threat of suburbanization, but happens to be Ontario. This could matter from a box office point of view since it is sufficiently recognizable to Americans as to not need to be seen as a Canadian film.The soulful, moody score from guitarist Bill Frisell helps carry the film forward as the down-on-their luck band of battlers try to fight the rising tide as represented by the billionaire's dastardly son. Sonny Stanton is played so interestingly by Noam Jenkins that you end of sort of liking him anyway. My favorite scene focuses on him getting into deeper trouble losing tons of money at the track.Lisa Ray and Rachael Leigh Cook fight for most delicious horse country babe. Ernie Hudson, Keith Carradine, David Alpay, and Joel Keller, among others, give character performances that provide a fun weft to the scheming warp of counter-scam mastermind played by an understated-but-credible Luke Kirby.Proof that Canadian film can be fun, I greatly enjoyed this film!
Ambrose Bierce will feel at home in ALL HAT's horse world
posted on 30 Aug 2009Nowadays some movies unspool from beginning to end with nary a nag in sight. Bierce defined a centaur as "one of a race of persons who lived before the division of labor had been carried to such a pitch of differentiation, and who followed the primitive economic maxim, 'Every man his own horse.'" In ALL HAT, Ray Dokes (Luke Kirby) IS his own horse, arriving home from a two-year stint in prison with virtually nothing, but using his noggin' to win back his girl Etta Parr (Lisa Ray), as well as achieving financial security by ruining his silver-spoon nemesis Reginald "Sonny" Stanton (Noam Jenkins) with Sonny's own horse!TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The body of noted American author (An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge) Ambrose Bierce, born June 24, 1842, recently was discovered in total cryogenic hibernation at the back of a Central American warehouse. Bierce is expected to be fully defrosted by late 2049 or early 2050. Based on my 85 previously posted IMDb comments and background in Bierce studies, the author's guardians have commissioned me to review a periodically updated list of films to help guide his future leisure pursuits, with the provision that my comments also be made available to the general public.