Customer Reviews

Row Your Boat

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I watched this movie, Jon Bon Jovi's great performance made me forget that he was an international rock-star! His great performance as a homeless ex-con in this film made me think of him as a bona-fide actor, and nothing else. His acting, along with the good story-line, is what sells this film. The story depicts a true-to-life drama that is not overshadowed by exorbitant special-effects or other ubsurdities. I believe this is the reason why it did not receive the recognition it deserves; it wasn't marketable to today's public. However, please do not let this stop you from buying, or at the very least, renting this film. The story is awesome, the support cast is great, and the lead role played by Jon Bon Jovi will make you sympathize with his situation. Personally, this film may just be the stepping stone for Jon Bon Jovi into a great film career. You do not want to miss this film, and above all, you do not want to miss Jon's performance.

I thought this movie was wonderful. I got it because I'm a huge BON JOVI fan. This movie was very good. You could see based on the past films he had done, his acting has come a long way. Jon was believable the whole time. I suggest this movie to everyone. The acting is so good that it isn't just for the JBJ fan. Go get it .Great story line. The only thing that gave it away that it was a low budget film was the editing, other than that I would see this in the theater.
I like this movie over the movie No Looking Back. Maybe because Jon is the star! Enjoy.

I purchased this movie purely knowing that Jon Bon Jovi had a lead roll. Being from Australia this movie is not available here, so I purchased it through Amazon blind, knowing very little about it (pretty risky). Jon is pretty convincing as an ex con trying to go the straight and narrow. Mixed in with a soppy love story is always a winner with me. Highly recommended viewing, those dreamy blue eyes just reel you in, if nothing else the perve value was worth the extra cost (with the exchange rate being so poor). I'm happy to have this movie in my home movie collection.

Row Your Boat is a very moving film. The cast played their parts very well. In particular, I thought Jon Bon Jovi was excellent. He plays the part of the main character, a poor, homeless, ex-con who is trying to get back on his feet. He plays the part so well; it is as if the movie is more about an actual person rather than just a movie. The movie is a little hard to follow because different scenes are cut in different places (you can tell by the actors' clothes), which is a bit annoying. There is a nice sense-of-humor in this movie. It is a little weird, but if you are not too rigid, you will laugh and have a good time watching this film. To sum up, the acting is great, the story is great, and when these factors are put together, it makes for a great film. Row Your Boat is a movie that I watched more than once, and would recommend to others whom I think would/could appreciate it.

Iv'e only seen the VHS version of this, but it's a good film, that should have got some kind of Cinema Release. It's got a good story line, and some good performances, especially from Jon Bon Jovi, who continues to impress as an Actor. If only somebody would take a decent shot on him, and give him a role in a film with a budget. The only thing that let's this film down is the slightly improbable ending, but if you like a bit of a weepy, this films for you.

I was highly impressed with this movie. Yeah, it was low budget, but sometimes those are the best.
The actors did a outstanding job!!!!!!!
Jon Bon Jovi has come a long way since Moonlight, I just hope that he will continue making great music and great movies, since he has the talent for both.
He was a natural in this one. The story was good, acting was excellent!!!! Throw in some comedy and you have a hit with this one!!!!!
Great job.......Jon........How you doin'....haha!!!!!
I would recommend this movie who enjoys a feel good, do the right thing kinda movie.
Two thumbs up on this one!!!!!

All I have to say because so many have said so much, just get it!. I wasn't sure if I would like the film but I did, I really did. Jon's cating has come a long way. He is ready for the big screen. The story line was great, but, because I LOVE JON, I didn't prefer the ending.The only way you could tell that this was a low budget film was the editing. All actors were good, but, I'm throughly impressed with the acting ability of Jon. This film is not just for Bon Jovi fans. Get it today.
Enjoy!!

This is just a real good film from Jon,probably one of my faves (comparing with others from Jon).It's a sweet story full of emotion and Jon really makes a good performance on it,the role just suits him.There's some others good films in which, thought Jon do good,the role he plays doesn't suit with his own character,in this case it does,you can realize there's part of him on it,and there's a feeling on this film difficult to explain,couln't help of crying at the end.You gotta get the video if you want to know what I'm saying...

What a nice story and good performance by the actors. Jon Bon Jovi can act. He is entertaining in this movie.

When looking at the cast list for this film, I originally intended to construct my review entirely from lyrics of Jon Bon Jovi songs. Unfortunately, it turns out that I don't know any Jon Bon Jovi lyrics. But I suspect that even if I did, no one reading this would recognize them anyway.

In any event, in ROW YOUR BOAT Jon Bon Jovi plays a guy recently released from prison. He isn't quite ready for the path to the straight and narrow in the newly found freedom he has in New York City. His hobbies include breaking into people's apartments, drinking their wine, stealing their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and then jumping out the fire escape when the owners come home.

However, a chance encounter with his brother pushes him towards improving his lot in life. You see, the brother he went to prison to protect is still mixed up in crime and Mr. Jovi resolves not to follow in those footsteps. Exactly what kind of crimes his brother commits are left a little vague. His antics include breaking into empty Chinese restaurants at night, having a crummy apartment full of boxes and boxes of CD players, and getting pushed around by an Asian gangster with bleached hair. (The Asian gangster, incidentally is named Tony Lo Fat. Which I presume is what you get when you put a Soprano on a diet.)

While sleeping in a homeless shelter, he happens along a US Census official, and gets the bright idea of working for that government department. In one of the movie's unintentionally fun moments, the frustrated and over-worked federal employee is played by Thomas Lennon - better known as the cop in the really small shorts in RENO 911.

So Jovi begins his life as a census-taker, which puts him in all manner of apparently funny situations. At one point, he is forced to shout "No, I'm not crack-head! I work for the United States government!" at people who refuse to take his clipboard seriously.

Eventually, his job causes him to cross paths with the Chinese immigrant (played by Ling Bai) he will be forced to share awkward and unwieldy romantic dialog with for the rest of the movie. Yes, apparently, not only will censor-takers count the number of baths and bedrooms you have, they'll also scope you out and presumably take their research back to the big babe-o-meter database back in Washington, DC where they and their decedents will plan generations of inappropriate questioning.

Now, to understand the next bit, you must realize that ROW YOUR BOAT is the kind of romantic movie set in a world very similar to, but ultimately completely different to our Earth. Using his job, he gains access to her house. His position allows him to as Bai all kinds of personal questions (none of which are on the official forms, of course). Using his creepily-gotten information, he then sets himself up as an English teacher (something he has zero experience with) and offers to give her lessons in linguistics for virtually no money.

Is this behavior charming? Well, apparently it is in movie land. However, I suspect that the kind of guy who does this sort of thing in real life will one day find himself in a model home full of hidden cameras with Chris Hanson asking him if he wouldn't mind explaining himself.

I digress, but the rest of the film is relatively ordinary anyway. The main sources of conflict are between Jovi and his brother and also between Bai and her husband. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention above that Jovi is pulling this stuff on a married woman. I suppose the fact that it's an unhappy marriage to a high ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party gives Jovi a free license to creep.

The film is slightly difficult to watch in places. I'm honestly not sure if the Digiview Productions version of the disc is edited for content, or the director had a dose of narcolepsy in the editing room. Scenes (particularly in the first half of the film) tend to jerk around randomly. In one notable portion, it's unclear whether a shoving match takes place inside or outside.

This odd editing is representative of the film as a whole, particularly the script. This leaves the actors with very little to work with. Jill Hennessy has nothing to do as the girlfriend of Jovi's brother. We can't seem to figure out whether the gangster bother is really playing in the big leagues or not (or just in over his head in a very small racket). By the end of the movie, Jovi and Bai actually display some romantic chemistry, but the script has no idea what to do with it.

ROW YOUR BOAT is pretty much a waste of time. The romance is unsure of itself. The gangster scenes are never as tough or gritty as they need to be. The film as a whole seems to take itself much more seriously than it has any business doing. While it's sometimes funny to watch a high-flying movie take a flop, I had very little fun with this train wreck.

(On a personal note, I'd like to extend my condolences to the career of William Forsythe. This is how he is mentioned on the back cover of the DVD: "[...] his brother, played by William Forsythe (DICK TRACY, THE ROCK, DEUCE BIGALOW: MALE GIGALO) [...]" Can you imagine how you'd feel if that was your career trajectory?)