The Boys in the Boat
I’m not a snob about dad movies. If you put a movie in theaters that’s based on a true story about the Great Depression and rumblings of World War II, that’s like catnip for me. But The Boys in the Boat can’t even rise to the not-particularly-lofty heights of the generic dad movie – instead, it’s an aimless, trite exercise in inspirational cinema with the dull directorial stylings of George Clooney, who at this point should really reconsider the paint-by-number period projects he signs on for. Not even the usually charming Callum Turner is able to save this plodding, dull-as-dishwater sports melodrama.
In the midst of the Great Depression, Joe Rantz (Callum Turner) has dreams of becoming an engineer. There’s just one problem: He can’t find work, and is on the precipice of having to drop out of college because he can’t afford the tuition anymore. But there is one shining beacon of hope. He learns from a friend that if he makes it onto his university’s crew team, he’ll be given not just free room and board, but a stipend as well, enough to help him stay in school. Joe signs up for the junior varsity team’s tryouts, and after months of grueling training, he finds himself awarded a slot on the boat. Their team’s ambitions are high: The school is determined to send a team to the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, but to do so they’ll have to qualify by winning races against some of the most prestigious, well-funded schools in the country. But against all odds, they find that somehow their specific group of rowers works so well together that they might just be able to do the impossible.
The biggest problem with The Boys in the Boat is that, despite the title that feels as though it’s going to focus on them, the members of the crew team are almost completely anonymous. Aside from Joe, who is the central figure of the entire piece, and the introverted Don Hume (Jack Mulhern), who gets a few standout moments, the athletes have almost no distinguishing characteristics. If we’re given almost nothing to work with, how are we supposed to care about any of them? Yes, it’s a large ensemble cast, but think about how efficiently Penny Marshall introduces all of the players in A League of Their Own. It can be done – the writers of The Boys in the Boat just couldn’t be bothered to develop any of their characters.
George Clooney is capable of directing a compelling period drama – look no further than his impressive work on Good Night and Good Luck. But here, he makes no effort to inject any excitement into the proceedings. The rowing scenes are well-shot, but everything else is painfully boring, and any depth to the interpersonal relationships is nearly nonexistent. It leans way into sappy Americana, seemingly hoping that the nostalgia factor for geriatric audiences will be enough to see it over the finish line. Overall, the entire narrative is just unfocused – plot elements don’t seem to mesh together well or, for that matter, have any sense of purpose at all. I can’t remember the last time I saw a movie with so many scenes and narrative tangents that contributed absolutely nothing to the plot.
What’s perplexing is that this movie has no reason to be so disappointing. Callum Turner is incredibly charming, even if he isn’t always given the material to prove it. Joel Edgerton is a talented actor who can usually be relied upon to elevate whatever material he’s been given. How is it even possible to mute their shine so thoroughly? There are flashes of charisma and some semblance of life periodically among the members of the rowing team, but they’re not given much to work with, character-wise. Yeah, it’s exciting to watch the team win at the Olympics – spoiler alert, in case this is your first-ever movie – but it’s certainly no Chariots of Fire. Instead of making any kind of emotional impact on its own, The Boys in the Boat feels like a warmed-up, mediocre version of a dozen other better sports melodramas. If you’re really a fan of the genre, this film’s predictable but comfortingly familiar narrative might pluck at the old heartstrings, but for most viewers, The Boys in the Boat will likely be a trial of Olympic proportions to get through without falling asleep.
Directed by George Clooney
Starring Callum Turner, Joel Edgerton, Jack Mulhern
Runtime 122 min
Language English