Yer Released: 2023
Directed by: George Clooney
Starring: Joel Edgerton, Callum Turner, Peter Guiness
(PG-13, 123 min.)
Genre: Sports Drama

“The biggest risk in life is not risking.” Anonymous

Who cares if you’ve never rowed in your life. It’s the middle of the Great Depression and you’re living in a rusted-out jalopy eating a can of beans. Making the Washington State rowing team may be the only way to get a roof over your head and a steady paycheck.

Out of the depths of the Depression comes an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate account of how nine working-class boys from the American West showed the world at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin what true grit really meant.

Director and producer George Clooney takes a page of Frank Capra in featuring this #1 New York Times best-selling non-fiction novel written by Daniel James Brown. Capra knew that people needed something to get them through those hard times, films that were not just fun but inspiring, too, such as It’s a Wonderful life, It Happened One Night, Meet John Doe, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, or Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

We need that same inspiration now, too, and we get it in spades with The Boys in the Boat.

The story centers on Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), the guy living the rusted jalopy. He is a student at The University of Washington, but he is behind on his tuition, and like so many in the 30s, he cannot find a job. Getting on the rowing team of 8 might secure a bed and funds, but it will not be easy.

Coach Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton) gives it to them straight.

“The eight-man crew is the most difficult team sport in the world. The average human body is just not meant for such things. Most of you will not be chosen ”

Decades later Basketball coach Bobby Knight echoes what Ulbrickson does with his would-be JV team.

“The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win.” Bobby Knight

And prepare they do. Racked with pain, lack of sleep, and trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to make the eight-man crew act as one takes a toll on all. Joe falls asleep in class and is roundly humiliated by his scornful professor. But Joyce (Hadley Robinson), the sweet young thing sitting behind him, is on his side, and that makes all the difference.

Another balm for that pain comes when Joe does some work on the boat itself, the one being prepared for the Olympic competition. Working with hand tools is therapy in itself, but it is the kindly wisdom of George Pocock ( Peter Guiness) that really makes the difference.

The British-born builder of the racing boats, or “shells,” handcrafted each one out of cedar.

“He was the consummate craftsman, and he taught these guys to approach rowing the way he approached his craft of building boats, He taught them to put their heart into it, be earnest about it, and that they could lift themselves up by performing their craft as well as they could.” – Stephen Quazzo

The Boys in the Boat is not just about hard work, blisters, and pain, but it’s also about taking risks with a rebel spirit. The coach thinks a tough coxswain will make the difference, so he brings back the unruly varsity cox’n Bobby Moch (Luke Slattery), who had been banned from the team.

Moch starts to get his rhythm and so do the 8. Then in their first competition against Cal (University of California at Berkley), the Golden Bears team that always defeats Ulbrickson’s Husksies, Moch defies the coach’s orders to play it safe.

The same with Ulbrickson himself when he decides to let his now amazing JV team compete in the 1936 Olympics in Germany instead of his varsity team. It is against protocol, and he may get fired, but he goes with his gut.

And here we are reminded of another story that has its roots in those 1936 Olympics hosted by a preening Adolph Hitler. It is the opening of the wonderful book and film Unbroken.

Like Joe Rantz, Louis Zamparini comes from trouble. He steals things, drinks liquor, and smokes cigarettes when he is only about 11 years old. His older brother straightens him out, though, telling Louie he can be a winning track runner if he works through the pain.

“If you can take it, you can make it.”

***

Adversity comes from all directions, not just a rebel coach or coxswain. Joe’s father, the one who had deserted him years ago, turns up and rattles the kid who is now starting to make a success of his life. And there are money problems, not just for Joe, but for the whole team, who must raise $5000 dollars (over $111,000 in today’s bucks) to pay the cost to get to the Olympics.

More kicks in the gut continue, but they do not give up. The boys in the boat are the underdogs, and they wear that label as a badge of honor. It doesn’t get much better than that, wouldn’t you agree?

–Kathy Borich
🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁

Trailer

Film-Loving Foodie

When Jo is not eating beans out of a can, he gets his grub from a soup kitchen, the mainstays of so many suffering during the Great Depression. Little did he know that he’d be drinking champagne right out of the bottle and grazing on some delicious buffets in a few years.

Not all Depression era soup was tasteless. Our Potato Bacon Soup is quite delicious, with cream, bacon, and cheddar cheese.

Many had to subsist on such lovelies as Hobo stew with its secret ingredients of tobacco and lint, of Liver Loaf, Hot Water Pie, or that timeless stable, S.O. S. Enjoy our soup even more as you look at alternatives explained below

The stock market crashed. October 24th, 1929, now known as Black Thursday, led to several more stock market slumps and ultimately, the Great Depression. Imagining any time in history, my mind instantly jumps to… BUT WHAT WERE THEY EATING?! Or in this case, not eating. Families had to get creative to fill their bellies. The most bleak recipe I could find was “Hobo Stew” which called for a pinch of tobacco and LINT. Other delicious morsels include: Vinegar Cobbler,Liver Loaf, Mock Apple Pie made with Ritz crackers, Peanut Butter Stuffed Onions, Hot Water Pie, Gelatin Luncheon Salad, and my personal favorite, S.O.S (or Shit on a Shingle, a military staple of canned corned beef in a gloopy, mystery sauce served on toast). I once made my 8th grade students bake an authentic Great Depression Era cake that called for Campbell’s tomato soup in place of oil. Honestly, it was surprisingly tasty! Hey, it wasn’t all bad. Kraft Mac & Cheese was invented in this time and fed a family of 4 for just 19 cents. –Savor Tooth Tiger

Potato Bacon Soup

INGREDIENTS

8 ounces bacon (chopped)
3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (diced into medium sized cubes)
1 yellow onion (diced)
7-8 cups of chicken stock or water
1 cup half and half or cream
4 ounces grated cheddar cheese
green onions for garnish (optional)
Salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Start by heating a large pot to medium heat. Sauté the chopped bacon until completely cooked. Remove and set aside, leaving the bacon grease in the pot.
Cook the diced onion in the bacon grease until golden brown. Add the diced potatoes and cover with water or stock. Add a large sprinkling of salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender. Reduce heat if boiling over.
Using an immersion blender, food mill or regular blender, blend the potatoes and onions briefly. Just enough to smooth out the soup but too long and the potatoes can become gummy.
Return soup to the pot with the cream or half and half, cheddar cheese, cooked bacon and any additional water or stock to get the consistency of a creamy soup. Adjust salt and pepper.
Garnish with chopped green onions.

Savor Tooth Tiger