This movie might have had a chance had they cast someone other than Tatum O'Neal in the lead. It's understandable why they did so, given her seemingly luminous performance in 'Paper Moon'. But in 'International Velvet', she proves the old adage that child actors rarely if ever grow up to be good adolescent or adult actors, unless they receive (additional) training as adult actors.
In any case, Tatum ruins this film. Her acting and line-readings are shallow, silly, inappropriate, and non-believable. Not only that, it's fairly obvious that she not only doesn't like horses, she actively dislikes them.
To close, I'll state that even all these years later, Tatum O'Neal's performance in this film remains the very worst performance I've ever seen a "name-brand" actor give.
In any case, Tatum ruins this film. Her acting and line-readings are shallow, silly, inappropriate, and non-believable. Not only that, it's fairly obvious that she not only doesn't like horses, she actively dislikes them.
To close, I'll state that even all these years later, Tatum O'Neal's performance in this film remains the very worst performance I've ever seen a "name-brand" actor give.