Another directorial film by George Clooney failed to impress the audience after The Boys in the Boat received a 47 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. While this figure may still change as the weeks roll in and we get to its worldwide release on Christmas Day, early reviews might as well affect the audience’s interest.
The Boys in the Boat is the fifth directorial project by Clooney to ever receive poor ratings. The actor has been struggling to beat his bad luck streak when it comes to his own films. It is not the lowest, at the moment, but certainly ranks among his most poorly-reviewed works, as things stand.
George Clooney’s Latest Directorial Sports Movie Is Set To Tank
Most of the reviews for George Clooney’s The Boys in the Boat pointed out its lack of depth and personality, failing to leave a mark despite it being a true-to-life underdog sports story. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, producer Grant Heslov revealed how challenging it was to make the boys look like they are supposed to be in the film:
“After the third week, George and I went to go watch them and they were terrible. And we were like, ‘Oh sh*t, we really screwed up.’ ”
Callum Turner, who portrayed the famous rower Joe Rantz, echoed the same thoughts as Heslov and admitted it was disastrous:
“George and Grant came down to watch us row, and we were so excited, so proud, ‘Let’s show them what we’ve got, show them what we’ve done.’ And we were awful, and I could see behind the smile and the thumbs up, the pain and the fear in George’s soul.”
Indeed, Clooney may have witnessed the outcome of his movie right after seeing the cast perform badly during their rehearsals. While the actors eventually hit their mark, it took them a long time to properly execute it.
Other directorial works of Clooney that earned low ratings on Rotten Tomatoes include The Monuments Men (30%), Suburbicon (28%), The Midnight Sky (49%), and The Tender Bar (51%).
Ben Affleck’s Directorial Sports Film Was A Success
While George Clooney is evidently less experienced as a filmmaker than an actor, he also had other embarrassing moments that tarnished his reputation. Fans would remember his failed attempt at portraying Bruce Wayne/Batman in Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin (1997).
It’s a shame that fellow actor Ben Affleck managed to do both – play Batman and direct his own movies. His portrayal of the Caped Crusader was praised by many fans, and he worked so well with other DC superheroes.
On the other hand, he has a couple of directorial projects that earned both fans’ and critics’ praise. Air (2023) is a biographical sports drama film directed by Affleck with an impressive 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The plot is based on the true story of how Nike managed to convince NBA rookie Michael Jordan to join a partnership.
Clooney’s streak of low scores for his directorial features is definitely an issue. Unless he has another upcoming project that would perform critically well, he may have to take a step back and reevaluate his creative decisions.
