Not only is it a poorly told story, with terrible directing and acting as others have pointed out, but the rowing in this movie is actually quite bad. There are a few helicopter/crane shots of actual Cambridge and Oxford crews rowing, but it's obvious that these were taken outside the context of the movie. While the actors seem to have had some coaching and practice before shooting started, it couldn't be more than a few weeks. Their technique is horrendous, even in the Boat Race sequence. For people that speak the language, expect missed catches, washing out, bodies flying everywhere, coxswains yelling "stroke! stroke!" . . . you name it, they mess it up, and all the while the boats are perfectly on keel. Anyone who would be in The Boat Race would look much better than these fools. This movie has been a running joke in boathouses and on rowing message boards for years. If you know anything about what a rowing stroke should look like, how a coxswain calls a race, the etiquette of conversation during a seat race, or the difference between 20 and 35 strokes a minute, you will not be able to keep from laughing at this movie.
