Alison Lohman delivers in an otherwise inert ‘Flicka’

“My Friend Flicka,” Mary O’Hara’s famous novel about a boy and his horse, comes back to the screen with a couple of changes.

First off, the title is “Flicka,” the original being evidently too long or too sincere for today’s audiences. And the boy has become a girl.

Or more specifically, a teenager of the female gender, Katy (played by Alison Lohman). Katy has grown up on a Wyoming ranch and finds schoolwork unfulfilling. Home for the summer, she spots a wild mustang in the hills, and determines to tame it.

Her father (country singer Tim McGraw) is against the idea, just as he’s against most things his daughter suggests. He’s either a strict traditionalist who wants children nowadays to grow up right instead of becoming slackers or crackheads, or he’s a jerk. You decide.

After Katy catches the mustang (and names it Flicka) a war develops at home. But naturally Katy keeps slipping into the corral at night to soothe her new friend.

“Flicka” has some pleasant enough passages about the changing of the West, and some gorgeous photography of horses and mountains. The production ran into some trouble when two horses died in accidents while shooting.

The film is at its best when it forgets about its forced family dynamics (there’s also a son who wants to give up the ranch) and simply relaxes into ranch life and horses. It’s also on firm ground when it sticks with Alison Lohman’s spunky heroine.

Lohman (“White Oleander”) is an actress in her mid-20s who specializes in playing teenagers; she’s sort of the Mary Pickford of this era. Nevertheless, she’s a terrific actress and she brings conviction to the hackneyed material.

Maria Bello (“A History of Violence”) is her mother, and she easily out acts Tim McGraw. The singer plays an important role here, but apparently somebody told him that underplaying was the way to find his character. Not wise: He looks as though he’s going to fall asleep in his saddle, unless he turns to wax first.

“My Friend Flicka” was made into a film in 1943 with Roddy McDowall, and later a 1950s TV series. Its appeal should be durable enough to bring new fans into this movie, but it just doesn’t become very memorable.