The Boys in the Boat (2023)

George Clooney steers The Boys in the Boat so carefully that it barely makes a wake, which is an odd problem for a movie about going fast. It’s a true underdog story told with heart and zero surprises. Joe Rantz is a broke engineering student in 1930s Seattle, living out of an abandoned car, who tries out for rowing because the team comes with a job and a bed. He’s never rowed. Neither has his buddy Roger. Joel Edgerton’s coach, Al Ulbrickson, takes a gamble on his junior varsity kids, and a headstrong coxswain named Bobby Moch keeps throwing out the race plan in thrilling ways. The races are fluid and elegantly shot, and the road to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin carries real weight. The rest is earnest, predictable and nearly edgeless. Audiences gave it an A CinemaScore, critics a 58% on Rotten Tomatoes. A 6.4 because the story is stirring even when the telling is safe. $204.53 says you learn what a coxswain is tonight and work the word into conversation tomorrow.

What works: The races are fluidly shot and genuinely stirring, and the true story of a working-class crew making it to Berlin carries real heart.

What doesn’t: Clooney’s old-fashioned approach sands off every rough edge, so the drama plays out exactly the way you expect it to.

Who it’s for: Families and grandparents looking for a sincere sports history movie they can all watch together.