Miracle at Oxford

Rating:
Summary: Oxford is no Miracle
Review: Ok, the cover looks like a clone of Miracle with Kurt Russell and that is about the best thing this movie has going for it. West looks really young so this is probably a made for tv British film that has been repackage to ride the curtail of West recent critical acclaim on HBO's The Wire and on the success of Disney's Miracle. I didn't finish the movie because I honestly didn't care who won the boat race. Unlike Miracle which keeps you watching despite Russell's wardrobe and great looking toupee, this movie never draws you in and you just wish the boat would sink and drown the entire cast.

Rating:
Summary: Now wait a minute...it's actually a good rowing movie!
Review: Okay, it might help to know something about rowing. I suspect that the majority of viewers of this film will be rowers, or at least the majority of people who appreciate it will be. And yes, I'm a rower. This is the (largely) true story of the 1987 Boat Race mutiny at Oxford, based on the book by the coach, Dan Topolski. The actors apparently trained for 6 months to learn how to row, and overall did a pretty fair job of it. While purists (as exist with every sports movie) can complain about some things (rowing nuances: like if they're going so damn fast, why aren't they clearing their puddles in the beautiful overhead shot near the end? And why are there hatchet blades [first introduced in 1991, and not even ubiquitous until a few years later] being used by the Cambridge crew in 1987?), it does a pretty good job, and it's nice to see a good rowing movie for a change (example of bad rowing movie: Oxford Blues). This English movie was originally released in 1996 as "True Blue"; one suspects that its recent DVD release in the US under its current name is indeed an attempt to capitalize on the success of "Miracle." But the story is based on fact (even though there are opposing viewpoints), and the sequence of events actually happened, including the Disney ending. The ringer Americans in the film are portrayed as major jerks, but there is minor redemption at the end for one; and again, this was certainly how Topolski saw it, and may have been as it really was. I also suspect that, unlike football, baseball, and basketball movies, just tossing out rowing terminology will be gibberish to the average viewer, as most people have at least a passing acquaintance with our most popular sports, but rowing remains, in this country at least, a bit more esoteric. I imagine this was less of a problem in the UK, where the Boat Race is a major televised spectacle (sort of like the Super Bowl) and British rowing icons are respected, revered, and knighted (witness Sirs Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent). So this film is doomed to be less well understood on these shores. But, while not outstanding in its writing and tying up loose ends, it's a very good movie, with tremendous on the water scenes, and reasonably well-acted. For anyone with a passing knowledge of the sport who is looking for a good (and true) tale, this is a worthwhile way to pass 2 hours. You may even want to watch it while erging*---might make that less painful!

*Erging: The verb developed from the machine, the rowing ergometer, known to all rowers as more of a torture device. They are shown in the movie as well.

Rating:
Summary: So bad it induced labor.
Review: The only good thing about this movie was my wife going into labor 2 hours later. We must have fast forwarded 1/2 the movie, and it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. My wife enjoyed labor more than I enjoyed enduring the movie. Be careful if it's not close to your due date . . .

Rating:
Summary: Miracle at Oxford is Fantastic!!!!
Review: This movie is absolutely fantastic, and this film has captured the magic of the race perfectly. But, I believe that if you are not a big fan of Rowing that you would still enjoy this movie for its superb performances by the actors, and I'm sure that people would appreciate actually seeing the actors row the race instead of some stunt double rowing it for them, because it truly is a heart wrenching thing to row at full pelt for 20 minutes. And I truly encourage everybody who reads this to see this movie.