The Boys in the Boat: First We Take Poughkeepsie, Then We Take Berlin

By Chris Knight

Rating: C-

On the face of it, The Boys in the Boat would seem to be right in George Clooney’s wheelhouse. It’s a winesome human interest story, set in a mid-century era that is one of his most frequented. (Of his eight previous movies as director, all but two take place between 1925 and 1975.)

His latest is based on a true story and takes place in 1936, when Berlin hosted the Olympic Games. (Though we’re four-fifths into the movie before we catch even a glimpse of Germany.) Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), a poor kid struggling to pay his tuition at the University of Washington, joins the school’s rowing team after hearing that they offer accommodation and pay.

Bruce Herbelin-Earle, Callum Turner and Jack Mulhern in The Boys in the Boat

He and his teammates definitely have the cards stacked against them. They’re the number two boat at the school, and it doesn’t sit well with other (richer) students or their staff cheerleaders when coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton) decides they’re going to represent the university at the Poughkeepsie Regatta in New York.

And in case we weren’t sure of that fiscal discrepancy, the announcer at said race describes the contest as one featuring “old money versus no money at all … want-tos  versus have-tos … a boat full of underdogs representing an underdog nation.”

Of course, they take Poughkeepsie. But when they set their sights on Berlin, the U.S. Olympic Committee says it can’t afford to send them. And so, Joe and the boys have to take to the streets to collect the $5,000 they need to fund the trip.

These are the types of obstacles and challenges that need to be overcome. And while I’m certain it wasn’t easy in real life, Clooney’s screenwriter (Mark L. Smith, adapting a book by Daniel James Brown) makes their troubles waft away with a wave of his pen in this version.

Even Joe’s love life is smooth sailing, when he meets Joyce (Hadley Robinson) who’s been carrying a torch since high school, and throws herself at him in a most un-1936-like fashion.

I mentioned that the Berlin Games arrive late in the film’s two-hour run. But unfortunately, that’s also when the risible moments start to pile up, and the film goes from just saccharine to plain silly.

Take the awkwardly arranged meeting between the rowing team and sprinter Jesse Owens (Jyuddah Jaymes), whose performance will irritate Hitler a lot more than eight white guys in a boat.

Speaking of which, Hitler himself (Daniel Philpott) shows an almost meme-worthy level of petulance while watching the race, which, of course German organizers have rigged to give the Americans a disadvantage after they broke an Olympic record in the semifinals. The race comes down to a photo-finish, and the film draws out the drama by taking us into the darkroom to watch the film itself being processed before the winner is declared.

I liked Clooney’s last movie, the sombre (and uncharacteristically future-set) The Midnight Sky, a lot more than most people, and I continue to recommend it to those in the mood for a little dystopian drama.

But The Boys in the Boat is a by-the-numbers story that does little to distinguish itself from other underdog tales. The boys may be trying to take home gold, but this boat is taking on water.

The Boys in the Boat. Directed by George Clooney. Starring Callum Turner, Joel Edgerton and Hadley Robinson. Now in theatres.