The Boys in the Boat (2023)

The Boys in the Boat

• My mind is blown. Do you know why? Because this only has a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. Yes, it has some weak spots and some minor questionable decisions, but it’s still completely unjustified. George Clooney absolutely killed it with this. It’s certainly one of my favorite movies of the year, and it did something no movie has done to me this year: the urge to get up from my seat and cheer. Every single race scene in this movie was so ridiculously awesome and heart thumping. I was nervous and excited at the same time. It took everything I had to not get up from my theater chair and start clapping and yelling. Gosh, it was good. The story is inspirational (and true), so I loved it even more for that. These underdog movies are so great. It’s not ‘Rocky’ or anything, but it’s a great story to be told. I do think some scenes were unnecessary, and the dialogue slightly dragged it down at times. It wasn’t super noticeable, but I can think of a few spots where I was ready to move on. But that wasn’t often. It did also seem repetitive and cliche at certain points. Anyways, I enjoyed all the characters, and the cast gives a fantastic physical and mental performance. I love how by the end of the movie, I felt like I was part of the crew. And speaking of them, I have some crazy respect for the amount of effort they probably put into filming the rowing scenes. Lastly, the score was absolutely amazing, and probably a top five for me on the year. It fuels your emotions, both the happy and distressing ones. The presence of the strings all throughout the movie was perfect. Also, the inclusion of some late 30’s swing caps it off beautifully. Overall, this was a super fun movie, although it’s nothing groundbreaking. I definitely can’t wait to watch it again, and I’d recommend it to all sports/drama fans. This film is officially Berry Approved, so go see it now!