George Clooney’s latest directorial effort The Boys in the Boat is peak ‘dad cinema’

The Boys in the Boat. // Photo by Laurie Sparham

What do you think of when you see the words “Dad film?” You’re probably thinking of a movie set during WWII, an underdog story, maybe something involving boats or based on a book. You know, stuff men over the age of 45 like.

George Clooney’s latest directorial effort, The Boys in the Boat, has all of these. It is, quite possibly, the MOST dad movie of 2023. It’s also pretty good, even if you’re not a dad.

Seattle in 1936, as with most of the country, is deep in the throes of The Great Depression. Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), a student at the University of Washington, lives in his run-down Model-T Ford and eats cold beans as he studies, unable to pay for his next semester. His friend Roger Morris (Sam Strike), who’s in a similar situation, has a solution: they’ll join the Junior Varsity Row team, which provides a room, hot meals and payment. The only catch: the rowing team only has eight spots.

Morris and Rantz make the team, along with six other plucky upstarts whose resilience outweighs their inexperience. That character helps them get through a rigorous training period overseen by Coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton), the model of a put-upon coach keeping up appearances. 

Ulbrickson doesn’t just have to deal with a department that hasn’t won in years, but school boosters who are willing to fire him if he can’t take a team to the Olympics. Sensing a commonality in the JV team that may push them to succeed, Ulbrickson makes the unorthodox call of swapping in a new coxswain, the tenacious Bobby Moch (Luke Slattery). 

Much like Chariots of Fire, Rudy, and Miracle before it, The Boys In The Boat dismisses that the audience may know the ending in advance (though you could easily Google it or read the Daniel James Brown book it’s based on), and doubles down on the journey and camaraderie of the story. Its standard cliches become strengths, with one-dimensional supporting characters who are likable nonetheless, and a romance subplot whittled down to the bare essentials.

The Boys in the Boat. // Photo by Laurie Sparham

Tying everything together is Clooney’s direction and a script by Mark L. Smith. After the histrionics of Leatherheads and the stagnancy of The Tender Bar, here Clooney goes back to old-school filmmaking. The Boys In The Boat feels classical in execution, with captivating performances.

Slattery is sensational as Bobby. A harsh taskmaster in the boat, he balances things by acting as a den mother to the rowers, taking an interest in their lives and well-being. Peter Guinness brings gravitas to George, the row team shipbuilder, who’s been a part of the team since Ulbrickson was a student. Completing the trifecta is James Wolk as Coach Bolles, Ulbrickson’s assistant. Wolk, who looks like a cross between Ron Livingston and Kyle Chandler, plays both conscience and foil to Edgerton’s stubborn Ulbrickson, adding to the undercurrent of balance that defines the film.

The Boys in the Boat. // Photo by Laurie Sparham

Clooney wrings a lot of Goodwill out of this story. However, he almost capsizes the boat by weighing down the third act, adding in extra dramatic stakes that end up feeling airless, while reminding us every 30 seconds that Nazis at the German Olympics were bad. The good news is that between those cuts back to Hitler, Clooney focuses on the racing and spirit that elevate the film for most of the two-hour runtime.

Even with a few flubs, George Clooney’s The Boys In The Boat is a solid and captivating film that perfectly emulates a time, place, and feeling and does so with relative ease. It’s the kind of movie anyone can find themselves falling under the spell of (but especially dads, let’s be honest).