'The Boys in the Boat': A must-watch if you love America

Remember when the movies offered an escape from trivial day-to-day concerns?

Nowadays a filmmaker’s first job is to rub your face in them.

“We’re in 2024 now,” bragged Pakistani-Canadian journalist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy about being tapped to direct the next “Star Wars” film, “and it’s about time that we had a woman come forward to shape a story in a galaxy far, far away,” she said.

It seems unlikely that Obaid-Chinoy’s vision for the iconic franchise will transcend her narrow ideological concerns. “I like to make men uncomfortable,” she has said.

This is the latest reminder that Hollywood’s priority in producing such woke remakes is not to dazzle fans or even to make a profit. Politics is the product. Shared cultural symbols must be corrupted and shaped by a left-wing narrative so that everything we once held dear becomes a gross mockery.

George Clooney’s new movie “The Boys in the Boat” presents a rare exception. The true-life tale of the University of Washington’s ragtag rowing team and their unlikely quest for gold at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin seeks first to entertain and inspire.

As appropriate for a film about the Olympics – in which determined amateur athletes compete for national glory – “The Boys in the Boat” is unapologetically pro-America. It is also pro-masculinity.

Early in the movie, we see nearly forty guys showing up to the dockyard for the school’s crew tryouts. The coach informs them that only the best will make it past the rigorous training process and even fewer will be selected to join the team.

This picture of straightforward “may the best man win” meritocracy might seem unfamiliar to the 2024 viewer. Where are the obligatory humiliation rituals for white men? Who is making sure this team complies with DEI standards?

In a rebuke of participation trophy culture, these boys test the limits of their athletic abilities and exemplify the healthy competitiveness necessary for any successful society. Theirs is a brotherhood earned by shared struggle and a common goal, not one imposed by busybody bureaucrats.

Likewise, their victory is a victory of the human spirit, not of petty political infighting. Which means it’s a victory that can inspire everyone, not just certain grievance based in-groups. Like all meaningful victories, it is motivated by healthy love of family, nation, and tradition, rather than by rage and resentment.

Clooney’s direction ably brings Daniel James Brown’s best-selling book of the same name to life. Joel Edgerton is excellent as no-nonsense coach Al Ulbrickson, as is Callum Turner as team leader Joe Rantz. A tale of patriotism and perseverance, “The Boys in the Boat” is highly recommended viewing for anyone who still loves America.