Summary
The Boys in the Boattells the inspiring true story of the eight working-class men on the University of Washington’s rowing team (and their coach) in the mid-1930s who defied all odds when they qualified for the Summer Olympics in Berlin.George Clooney’sThe Boys in the Boatisbased on Daniel James Brown’s 2013 novelThe Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, which, of course, intricately covers the men’s rowing team’s astonishing tale, from beginning to end. However, unlike the book, the film left out some important details.
The Boys in the Boat, directed by George Clooney, is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video or MGM+.
The Boys in the Boatbegins with Joe Rantz, as an elderly man, watching his grandson row, which makes him think back to his glory days when he helped the United States win an Olympic gold medal for men’s eight rowing. So, the biographical sports drama film’s narrative is framed as Joe’s memory, making him one of the primary characters in the movie. However, even some details from Joe’strue story are omitted inThe Boys in the Boat.
10Joe Rantz’s Tragic Backstory
The Boys In The Boat Omitted 1 Pivotal Scene From His Childhood
Callum Turner’s Joe Rantzis at the center of the plot inThe Boys in the Boat. But director George Clooney and screenwriter Mark L. Smithhad to cut out some integral parts of Joe’s lifethat put him on a path that ultimately led to him joining the University of Washington’s men’s rowing team. Joe alludes to aspects of his tragic upbringing, but the biographical sports drama never shows it (especially one event that forever changed him when he was 15).
Following the 1936 Olympics, Joe graduated from the University of Washington and worked for Boeing.
When Joe was four years old, his mother, Nellie Maxwell, died of cancer, leaving him to be raised by his father, Harry Rantz, and, later, his stepmother, Thula LaFollete. Joe and his stepmother frequently butted heads, andwhen he was 15 years old, Harry and Thula abandoned Joe,leaving him behind but bringing Thula’s four children with them. This life-altering moment resulted in Joe growing up prematurely by being forced to fend for himself. However, he persevered and was ultimately able to pay his way through school at the University of Washington, where he joined the men’s rowing team.
The Boys In The Boat Interview: Daniel J. Brown On The Research Process For His Novel
The Boys in the Boat author discusses his excitement when George Clooney signed on, meeting the real Joe Rantz, and his in-depth research process.
9When Joe Proposed To Joyce
The Couple Got Engaged In 1932
Every good biographical sports drama has to have a central romance, and George Clooney’s film focuses on Joe Rantz and Joyce Simdars, played byHadley Robinson inThe Boys in the Boat. However, the movie alters and leaves out several details from their love story.The couple began dating in 1936 in the filmwhen, in real life, Joe proposed to Joyce in April 1932. One of the primary arguments about the legitimacy ofThe Boys in the Boatis its condensed timing, which Joe and Joyce’s relationship was unfortunately a victim of.
Joe graduated from the University of Washington in 1939 and immediately married his college sweetheart, Joyce Simdars.
Joe and Joyce met and became close years before the events ofThe Boys in the Boatwhen they were attending school in Sequim, Washington. Then, they decided to study at the University of Washington, but Joe proposed to Joyce before college began. Meanwhile, the 2023 movie depicts the couple reuniting at the University of Washington in 1936, which frankly didn’t happen. Perhaps Joe and Joyce spending years apart and then bumping into one another on campus made for a better cinematic story, though.
8The Rowing Team’s Time Together Before The Olympics
The Boys In The Boat Condensed The Timeline
As mentioned above,The Boys in the Boatcondensed the timeline of the University of Washington’s men’s rowing team’s inspiring true story. Whereas the events in the film all take place in 1936,the working-class students' journey to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin occurred over the course of three years.During an interview withUSA Today, Daniel James Brown, the author ofThe Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, explained why the film had to compress the timeline. Brown said:
“[The Boys in the Boat is] all compressed into the year 1936, which is the year when everything came together. [The compressed timeline] makes sense, unless you’re doing a [longer] TV series.”
The real-life men’s eight rowing team began training for the Summer Olympics a few years beforehand, while inthe movieThe Boys in the Boat, it only took the men one year to prepare and ultimately win the gold medal. As Brown stated, there was only so much the producers could fit into a two-hour film, explaining whythey had to cut two years out of the script.If George Clooney wanted to adapt Brown’s book into a television series, though, the timeline would likely be much more accurate.
7The Boys' Meeting With President Roosevelt’s Son
The Team Tried To Meet FDR
The 2023 biographical sports drama covers several interesting aspects of the University of Washington’s men’s rowing team’s tale. However, it leaves out what is probably the most amusing fact about the student’s time on the rowing squad. When the boys traveled to Poughkeepsie, New York, for a race, they learned that Hyde Park was near the competition, and it was common knowledge that President Franklin D. Roosevelt owned a home in Hyde Park. Consequently,the rowing team set out to find the President of the United States.
Since the producers decided to shorten the timeline inThe Boys in the Boat, they also couldn’t show every race the University of Washington’s men’s rowing team participated in.
Before the race began, the boys rowed up the river and searched through the woods, trying to spot the prestigious estate. Surprisingly, they managed to locate Roosevelt’s home, but when they knocked on the front door, the President didn’t answer. Instead,one of Roosevelt’s sons opened the doorto find the University of Washington’s men’s rowing team.
As it turned out, the President was in Washington D.C. However, his son (it’s unclear which one) was also a rower, and he was happy to invite the boys in for a brief chat before leaving for their race. Unfortunately,this amusing event wasn’t integral toThe Boys in the Boat’s narrative,so, it wasn’t included inGeorge Clooney’s 2023 movie.
6The Number Of Races
The Boys Participated In Many More Races Than Shown In The Film
Since the producers decided to shorten the timeline inThe Boys in the Boat, they also couldn’t show every race the University of Washington’s men’s rowing team participated in. All in all, the biographical sports drama features three rowing competitions. Meanwhile, in real life, the boys competed in multiple other races over the course of three years.
Luke Slattery
Bobby Moch
Of course, it makes sense why the 2023 movie couldn’t include all the University of Washington’s rowing team’s races in the early to mid-1930s as it would end up being extremely long. While speaking withRadioTimes.com,The Boys in the Boatproducer Grant Heslov explained how they decided on the number threeregarding how many races to show. He said:
“In the book, there’s a lot more detail, there’s a lot more races. And we obviously couldn’t do all those races. So the challenging part really was trying to figure out like… we decided that three races would be the right amount in a two-hour film, and just figuring out what that was going to be like, and how we could sort of fit that into the storyline.”
5How The Team Raised Funds To Go To The Olympics
Berkeley’s Coach Never Donated Money
One of the main conflicts inThe Boys in the Boatis the dilemma of being unable to pay for the team to travel to Berlin, Germany for the Olympics. Even though they qualified,the U.S. Olympic Committee was unwilling to pay for the rowing team to go,claiming they were short on funds. So, the boys had to think of a way to raise enough money ($5,000, which amounts to over $110,000 today) to transport every rower overseas. While this happened in real life, the 2023 movie tells the story a bit differently.
Ebright wasn’t the reason [the rowers on the team] were able to travel overseas and win the gold medal.
InThe Boys in the Boat, the team gets a generous donation from their rival school’s coach. Ky Ebright, the coach of the University of California, Berkeley’s rowing team, gave the University of Washington students $300 to help them get to the Summer Olympics. However,Ebright never gave the boys a check in real life.Instead, the man just offered the team his support.
According toUniversity of Washington Magazine,The Seattle TimesandSeattle Post-Intelligencerhelped the rowers raise money by spreading their dilemma in print.The Seattle Timeseven donated $500 to the cause,and with their and the community’s support, the team gathered enough money to go to the Olympics. Ultimately, Ebright wasn’t the reason they were able to travel overseas and win the gold medal.
4A Photo Didn’t Determine The Men’s Eight Final At The Olympics
It Was Still A Close Race
After overcoming many trials and tribulations to get to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, the University of Washington’s men’s rowing team’s story reached its climax at the end ofThe Boys in the Boat. They made it to the final of the men’s eight rowing event at the Olympics, and the race was a nail-biter from start to finish.It came down to the United States, Italy, and Germany for the win,and when they crossed the finish line, it was too close to call.
Including a photo finish atThe Boy in the Boats' ending added dramatic effect to the film.
However, while they determine the winner via a photo inThe Boys in the Boat,the judges didn’t have a picture to rely on in real life.So, the judges had to deliberate and decide which one they believed finished first. After some time, they determined the United States was the winner over Italy and Germany. The University of Washington’s men’s rowing team, which included Joe Rantz, Don Hume, Bobby Moch, Roger Morris, Chuck Day, Gordy Adam, Johnny White, Jim McMillin, and Shorty Hunt, was awarded the gold medal, while Italy got the silver and Germany received the bronze.
3Joe & Joyce’s Marriage
The 2023 Film Ended Before The Couple’s Wedding
The Boys in the Boatconcludes with the University of Washington’s rowing team’s win at the 1936 Olympics. But, of course, their story didn’t end there, especially Joe Rantz’s. After coming home from Berlin, Joe continued school and rowing by competing in the college’s senior varsity eights. A few years later,Joe graduated from the University of Washington in 1939 and immediately married his college sweetheart,Joyce Simdars. The couple’s wedding was on August 08, 2025, and following their nuptials, Joe and Joyce went on to have five children together.
They seemingly had a long and happy life, as Joe was determined to give his family the love and support that he lacked in his childhood. Joyce died in 2002, and Joe died a few years later in 2007, at the age of 93, from congestive heart failure. So, it appeared as ifJoe Rantz’s life after the 1936 Olympicswas prosperous and quiet, which is briefly shown at the beginning and end ofThe Boys in the Boat. However, the viewers still missed out on seeing Joe and Joyce’s wedding.
2Every Rower’s Story
The Boys In The Boat Mostly Focused On Joe Rantz & A Few Other Athletes
Unfortunately, the director and screenwriter couldn’t find time to shine a spotlight on every single rower on the team inThe Boys in the Boat. As a result, the 2023 biographical sports dramafocuses on only a handful of the boys, including Joe Rantz, Don Hume, Roger Morris, and Bobby Moch.Meanwhile, their teammates are pushed to the background for the majority of the film.
The Boys in the Boatleaves out Chuck Day, Gordy Adam, Johnny White, Jim McMillin, and Shorty Hunt’s stories. Of course, trying to extensively include all of them in the plot would be arduous and nonsensical, given the movie’s two-hour runtime. However, if viewers want to learn more about the rowers, Daniel James Brown’sThe Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympicsis quite detailed while telling the true story.
The Boys In The Boat Review: George Clooney Directs A Hollow, Passive, Emotionless Sports Biopic
The Boys in the Boat turns an intriguing story into a snoozefest. The characters are devoid of depth and emotion, making it hard to become invested.
1What Happened To The Boys After The Olympics
The Boys In The Boat Ended After The Team’s Win In Germany
Unlike most other biographical movies,The Boys in the Boatdoesn’t update the audience onwhat happened to Don Hume, Joe Rantz, Bobby Moch, Al Ulbrickson, and the others after the 1936 Olympics. Instead, the movie ends with the University of Washington’s men’s rowing team’s win in Berlin. But many of the rowers went on to accomplish great things.
Rantz worked at Boeing for most of his life. Ulbrickson coached the United States rowing team at the 1948 Olympics in London and the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, winning gold (again) in 1948 and bronze in 1952. Hume fought in World War II. Unfortunately, all of this was left out ofThe Boys in the Boats' end credits.
The Boys in the Boat
Cast
The Boys in the Boat is a 2023 sports drama by director George Clooney. The film centers on the 1930s University of Washington rowing team, who train feverishly to win the gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The Boys in the Boat is based on the book of the same name by Daniel James Brown.
