On Jan. 7, the Germantown Academy girls rowing team went to watch George Clooney’s new movie, “The Boys in the Boat.” The movie reflected the team’s teamwork, as well as, demonstrated what being on a rowing team looks like.
“The Boys in the Boat” is a historical film that follows the University of Washington rowing team and their journey to compete in the 1936 Olympics. It takes place during the Great Depression and tells the story of how these boys had to overcome many struggles to compete in the Olympics.
The story follows Joe Rantz, who is played by Callum Turner, a kid who has lived most of his life on his own. He is faced with the challenge of paying for school tuition, which made him want to try out for the University of Washington’s rowing team since it offered financial support.
However, when Joe gets there, he sees hundreds of other boys who are trying out for the novice team for the same reason that Joe is. Throughout the tryout process, we see a montage of the training and the intense discipline that takes place to be part of what Coach Ulbrickson Al, played by Joel Edgerton calls “the most difficult sport in the world.”
“I liked the movie a lot. It showed the hard work and intensity that goes into rowing,” captain Gertie Lafferty ‘24 said. “It inspired me to work harder, but I wish it showed more of a camaraderie of the selected boys.”
Dale ‘24, Charlotte Baughman ‘25, Nina Sager ‘26) at AMC theatre to watch Boys in the Boat.
Photo Courtesy of Saloni Bhatia ‘24
By the end of the tryouts, Joe, along with seven other boys, Don Hume, George Hunt, James McMillin, Johnny White, Gordy Adam, Chuck Day, and Roger Morris make the team.
While the movie emphasizes the importance of the eight boys working together, it mainly shows the story of Joe Rantz. Since the other boys were going through a similar situation as Joe, I thought it would have been interesting to see the social issues that they have also faced.
“It was very good, and I thought the rowing was impressive,” rower Charlotte Baughman ‘25 said. “I just wish they covered more of the social issues that all of the rowers would’ve faced, as this story did take place during the Great Depression.”
While the rowing of the film was very impressive, throughout the film, we also see the love story of Joyce Simdars and Joe Rantz. While this was an interesting subplot to see unfold throughout the movie, it was shown too much and occasionally did take away from the main story of the movie.
“It was really good, but the middle section was too long and the important parts weren’t long enough,” rower Amelia Van Dale ‘24 said. “But overall, it was really interesting, and it inspired me to be a better rower.”
Before the Olympics, the coach decides to choose the novice team to go to the Olympics instead of the varsity team, which faces a lot of backlash. At the Olympics, we get an even closer insight into how difficult it must have been to compete against Ivy League rowers, who had unlimited resources from a young age.
It was very inspiring to see how these young, inexperienced rowers were able to compete at the highest level and that their hard work paid off.
I thought the story was very inspirational, and it was very exciting to see a movie about rowing, as it is an underappreciated sport. However, it would have been interesting to see more of the rowing journey for all of the rowers instead of just one.
If you are someone who likes sports and coming-of-age movies, I definitely recommend seeing Boys in the Boat!