Alex Mauer

This movie desperately wanted to be a separate peace, dead poets society and boys in the boat rolled up into a John Hughes formatted good guy bad guy ( think duckie and spader from pretty in pink). as a rower and a rowing coach, the rowing sequences were surprisingly good and accurate. I loved the subtle dig at the rob Lowe movie Oxford blues - where Lowe jumps a single, rows a 2000 meter race and wins in jeans and a bomber jacket. But the desperate tragedy lines from the coaches crew being decimated in Vietnam nam, to the dead parents of the newcomer and the final tragedy of the Olympic hopeful, John. Trust me if John were at the point of being selected for national team tryouts. He would not have been susceptible drinking. It takes discipline and dedication to get to selections for rowing national teams. Also, the day of entry into the final race at a collegiate level is an impossibility. Never ever would have happened. How did they get the boat there? Who rigged it how did they get into the lineup 10 minutes before and how many heats did they get through to get to the final. As a coach, I did the close-eyed drill many many times.