Parents' Guide to

The Boys in the Boat

Movie PG-13 2023 124 minutes
The Boys in the Boat Movie Poster: Coach Al Ulbrickson stands on a dock, looking down at his team in their boat

Common Sense Media Review

Sandie Angulo Chen By Sandie Angulo Chen , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Heartwarming, historical sports drama; smoking, language.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

  • The Boys in the Boat Movie: Callum Turner and teammates on the water
  • The Boys in the Boat Movie: Callum Turner and Hadley Robinson look at each other in the middle of a crowd

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 10+

Based on 15 parent reviews

PAmom
PAmom Adult
December 18, 2023
age 8+

Ok for everyone from grandma to youngest to get in the boat

Parent of a 14 yo rower and saw an advance screening. Other than language (and smoking but everyone smoked in the 30's), this film is as close to an elementary-age approved film as you can get. Even the kisses are few and G rated. The book has so much more dimensions than the film and I highly recommend both the young reader version (appropriate for upper ES and MS grades) and the full version (for advanced young readers and HS and above). The overall message is the importance of team work, grit beating wealth, and a touch of USA beating Nazis. As already written, there is a noticeable absence of diversity which, though true for the times in that sport, really needed a way to build in beyond a few seconds of Jesse Owens with a notable and important one liner with a second athlete (presumably another star of track and field) next to him. No suspense since the story is already known but a rare easy movie for a multi-generational outing with kids, parents, and grandparents. Our screening was rowers age 11 - 70 and all enjoyed but obviously had a more than passing interest in the subject. I'm being generous with four stars because I appreciate both the effort and investment and expect it will mostly get panned but the rowing sequences are so much better on a large screen in a theater than they'd be if you wait to watch on streaming.
Katherine R.
Katherine R. Parent of 12, 14, 18+, 18+, 18+ and 5-year-old
October 20, 2024
age 15+

See all 15 parent reviews

What's the Story?

THE BOYS IN THE BOAT is based on the true story of the University of Washington's 1936 Olympic crew team, as told in Daniel James Brown's 2013 nonfiction book. Directed by George Clooney, the historical sports drama chronicles how the Pacific Northwest team of mostly poor, rural, blue-collar rowers beat firsts their rivals from Cal Berkeley and then the elitist teams from the Ivy League and East Coast to win a spot in the infamous Berlin Olympics held in Nazi Germany. The movie, like the book, focuses primarily on one of the rowers, brawny Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), who tries out for the rowing team in part for its guarantee of a work-study job and place to board. Joe is one of the lucky young men to make the team, which is coached by Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton). The movie compresses the true story's timing into the year leading up to the Olympics, as Joe and his teammates (seven other rowers plus a coxswain) practice and prepare for every competition while also dealing with the unrelenting difficulties of being young and poor during the Great Depression.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (15 ):
Kids say (15 ):

This heartwarming historical sports drama is a conventional but inspiring tale of how the have-nots beat the haves not only on a regional and national scale, but on a global one. Clooney doesn't reinvent the wheel with this traditional "triumph of the underdog" story. In fact, he has to accelerate the timeline to make both parts of Brown's nonfiction book (countless descriptions of rowing practices and competitions and the story of the infamous 1936 Olympics) work. And, yes, the athletes look much older than 18-22, but these young men weren't pampered, blue-blooded prep school graduates -- they were the sons of lumberjacks and fishermen. Joe was actually abandoned by his father and left to fend for himself at age 14, so it makes sense that he'd look a little more rugged than the average Junior Varsity crew member. Turner gives a nuanced performance of controlled emotions as the film's central character. It's a little disappointing that The Boys in the Boat doesn't allow for a deeper dive into some of the other boys of the title, though it does offer a nice introduction to Joe's then-girlfriend and later-wife, Joyce (Hadley Robinson), who's unfailingly supportive.

There's a touching subplot about Joe's blossoming friendship with the wise, comforting English boatbuilder George Pocock (Peter Guinness), who proves to be more of a father figure to Joe than his own, absent dad. Luke Slattery gives a small but explosive (like his character!) performance as coxswain Bobby Moch. He, even more than Joe, serves as an anchor to focus on as he yells out motivational instructions to the rowers. Alexandre Desplat's rousing score is particularly effective, and Martin Ruhe's cinematography captures the immediacy of the races and the beauty of the rivers. Even audiences who think they're indifferent to rowing will likely feel a thrill as Washington team beats the odds and rows as one. Yes, that's a race-day cliche, but it's also a slogan that the individuals involved believed in and championed their entire lives.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the historical setting of The Boys in the Boat. How did the Great Depression impact the characters in the movie? How were the state school, Western rowers different than the men on the Ivy League teams?

  • How do Joe and his teammates demonstrate perseverance? Why is that an important character strength? What does the movie teach about continuing to try even when you're the underdog?

  • Do you think the filmmakers portray Joe and the team accurately? Do you think Jesse Owens really spoke to the rowers? Why do history-based films sometimes change certain facts for the sake of artistic vision?

  • If you've read the original book (or the young readers' adaptation of it): What aspects of the true story does the movie change? What, if anything, do you wish it had included or kept?

Movie Details

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