#33 "Derby"

Stats: 1995. Starring David Charvet, Joanne Vannicola, Dean McDermott. Not Rated.

Background: Derby has long been one of my favorite movies. My family didn’t have a VCR for most of my childhood, and when we got one, a whole new world—a world of taping things—was opened up to me. We only got ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS, but back then, the networks still produced their own movies all the time, and they showed movies on the weekends. I recorded so many movies—many of which I only watched once or twice, if at all.

Derby was one of the movies I taped—and I watched it over and over and over again, often with my cousins. A few years ago, I found it on dvd from Walmart.com. It was packaged with a horrible, horrible John Ritter movie that I threw away after watching once.

Reactions: Whenever I see Dean McDermott, I don't think, "There's Tori Spelling's husband." Instead, I think, "Hey, it's the guy from Derby!" Similarly, I don't associate David Charvet with Baywatch but with Derby.

Kate Woods returns home to her family’s horse farm when her father becomes ill. After his death, Kate, her fiancé Eric (McDermott), and her childhood sweetheart Cass (Charvet) must fight to keep the farm, all while training her horse for the Kentucky Derby.

Derby isn’t one of those movies that stands the test of time. It’s pretty cheesy and very predictable. Still, I love it, if only for the good memories surrounding watching it.

Verdict: Keep

Update: Aug. 5, 2011--Yeah, it may be cheesy and predictable, but when you watch it with someone who thinks it's as amazing as you do (in this case cousin Beth), it's an incredibly fun way to pass 90 minutes!