And They're Off Leaves Them Laughing

Can And They're Off ... be to horse racing movies what This Is Spinal Tap is to rock films? What Best In Show is to the dog show oeuvre? Given the deft comic timing of the film's acting, writing, directing and producing connections, my hopes are high.

Unlike last year's glossy, high budget film Secretariat, And They're Off... is a mockumentary -- a genre that infuses the devices and production aesthetics of a documentary with parody, satire and improvisation.

Having spent time on the backstretch of a racecourse, where the lives of the people play out concurrently with the lives of the horses, And They're Off ...'s writer and producer Alan Grossbard has sourced his film from first-hand experience.