Decidedly light matinee fare that has no qualms sticking to a well-trot winsome formula, Euros Lyn’s Dream Horse nonetheless breeds charm rather than contempt for its stick-to-the-formula approach. Based on the true story of a ragtag group of aspiring racehorse-owners from a Southern Welsh community who come together to breed and train a proper thoroughfare, Lyn’s film is designed for moms that like their movies “nice”.

What makes a movie mom-approved, you ask? Well the PG-rating certainly doesn’t hurt, as there’s few naughty words, nothing sexually explicit or even thematically suggestive. The characters are all fairly lovable underdogs, each with their quirks (this one’s the town drunk; that one is missing a whole buncha front teeth; this bunch works for the bank) but no underlying tension that cannot be overcome with a pint, a laugh, and a sprinkle of hope. There’s no true antagonist to speak of, so don’t go expecting a lot of external adversity in the form of a mustache-twirling horse breeder or a looming glue factory on a hill. It’s all perfectly pleasant, designed for a nice afternoon watch that you’ll never have to think of again unless suggesting movies for others to bring their mom to.

The obstacles come in Dream Horse come from within; having the courage to take a leap of faith and believe in something. That and the hay hurdles the horse must leap over in competitive steeplechase. Those are definitely obstacles. Moms love when movies keep it light-hearted and not all that rough around the edges, when things are nice and you don’t need to stress too much about whether the horsey is gonna win or not cuz the horsey is almost certainly gonna win. Dream Horse does just that and does it in a manner that’s hard to not smile along with and cheer on, convention be damned.

Toni Collette is Jan Vokes, small-town cashier by day and small-town bartender by night. Her days of small-town competitive pigeon breeding behind her (yes, this is apparently a thing), Jan needs a reason to get up in the morning. That inspiration begins to crystallize when Jan overhears former horse-racer Howard Davies (Damian Lewis) talk about his glory days of victory at her bar. He leaves out the part about his being a washed up, having almost lost his savings, his home, and his family in a bet that remains opaque throughout.

With no expertise, a splash of research, and a whole lot of ambition, Jan decides she wants to breed her own racehorse. In order to fund the endeavor, she recruits friends and neighbors alike into a syndicate that for “a tener a week” will help finance their foal’s training, stabling, diet, and race entry expenses. Dream Alliance, the name the gang of 20 rowdy and hopefully owners democratically decide upon, starts at the bottom of the bracket and, against all odds, begins to work his way up the charts, competing against the establishment racehorse champions and fancy boys with ascots and deep pockets that own them.

In the early stages of the film, the script from Neil McKay suggests Dream Horse aspires to combine Seabiscuit with Moneyball, Jan pouring over the imperial data of horse race champion statistics in order to ‘cheat the system’ to get a top-dollar thoroughbred at cut rate prices. But once the little foal comes stumbling out on its gangly horse legs, that birds-eye data approach melts into an ooze of maternal adoration; Jan caring more for Dream’s well-being than the potential earnings he can generate for the syndicate. As Dream ascends the ranks, the syndicate must decide what they’re in it for: the money or the thrill and purpose of belonging to something bigger than themselves.

Collette and Lewis ably headline the drama, delivering solid turns that aren’t particularly challenging or noteworthy from a performer’s standpoint but still manage to deliver the heart-on-its-sleeve sincerity without becoming saccharine that Dream Horse requires. Led by Game of Thrones’ Owen Teale in a jolly turn, the supporting cast is thinly-written, bloated with familiar archetypes whose character description don’t exceed a single adjective, but they help support the idea of a ramshackle southern Welsh community coming together around a race horse well enough to give the setting some needed distinction and character.

When the final moments introduce us to the actual owners of Dream Alliance and how much winnings the horse actually netted, it stands to reason that hope truly is a small thing, worth infinitely more than a paltry payout. Big dreams don’t always correspond with big profits and Dream Horse is a movie that celebrates the small stuff. Your mom is gonna love it.

CONCLUSION: Toni Collette leads this equestrian crowd-pleaser that doesn’t meddle with a well-trot formula so much as jockey it to safe, green pastures. Though saddled with cliché, ‘Dream Horse’ succeeds in spite of its narrative irons because of its guileless charm and forthright sincerity.