Row Your Boat
Jon Bon Jovi plays Jamey Meadows, a man newly released from prison who has found himself homeless on the crazy streets of New York City. Slowly, he must try to build his life up from the gutter. Resisting constant offers from his brother, played by William Forsythe (Dick Tracy, The Rock, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigalo) to rejoin the insidious world of crime, Meadows takes a menial job as a door to door census worker. Among his many encounters throughout this job, he meets a young Chinese immigrant who is just as unhappy in her life as he is in his. These two slowly hit it off and a relationship gradually begins to develop between them. Can Jamey Meadows learn to live in this new life, or will the temptations of his old ways drag him back to where he started?
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- Cast:
- Jon Bon Jovi , Bai Ling , William Forsythe , Jill Hennessy , Peter Kwong , John Ventimiglia , Thomas Lennon
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Reviews
Just perfect...
This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Jon Bon Jovi,(Janey Meadow),"Cry Wolf",'05, played an ex-con who just got out of the Pen and wanted to go straight, find a job, fall in love with a gal, have children and a dream house to go a long with his dreams. Janey soon found out that being an ex-con was not very easy and he wound up sleeping in Flop Houses and even the outside. Janey had a brother that tried to help him get his act together, but Janey wanted no part of his brother's lifestyle. Ling Bai, (Chun Hua),"Edmond",'05, plays a sweet young gal from China who has a baby and gets very involved with Janey. This story has many twists and turns and it is best you get a box of tissues in order to view some parts of this down to earth love story.
This film was a real find. A truly engaging story and characters you can care about make this a far more rewarding viewing experience than many higher profile, bigger budget films. Set in New York and dealing with an ex-con's struggle to go straight, this is a sweet, intelligent and moving film. Its central motif is the tragedy of the predicament that Jamey Meadows finds himself in - thoughtful and compassionate, his attempts to re-build his life are pushed down at every stage by his circumstances. The issues of the poverty cycle and the corruption of the vulnerable by the very people who should be protecting them are handled with care and insight, but without the cloying sentimentality so common in modern American cinema. Superbly written, though sadly poorly edited, this is a beautiful look at the struggle between idealism and practicality in today's world. This may sound heavy, but the script is peppered with humor and delivered with a lightness of touch that renders this a thoroughly enjoyable movie.The cast are commendable, both as individuals and as an ensemble, and the responsiveness of their performances in their interactions with each other lift this movie above the ordinary. Bai Ling's performance is a perfect balance of vulnerability and spiritedness, full of childlike innocence and wonder yet at the same time worn down by the seeming inevitability of life's disappointments. The biggest surprise however is Jon Bon Jovi as Jamey Meadows. Some of his other performances have been stilted and unresponsive, and even his well executed turn in The Leading Man falls short of being truly impressive due to his character's marked similarity to his own public face. In Row Your Boat, on the other hand, Jon Bon Jovi shines. A man of commanding presence and charm when fronting his rock band, Bon Jovi is utterly believable here as a slightly awkward down and out dominated by his older brother. His responsive and committed interactions with the other cast members are what set this performance apart from his others, and credit must be given to the director for drawing out such an impressive performance where other directors have failed.In all, a gem of a movie which has sadly been overlooked. Its limited release is a real shame.
I am not going to lie and say that this film is one of the most fantastic movies committed to celluloid (despite my childhood passion for Bon Jovi). What I will say is that this movie is very enjoyable. The script has some fantastic touches. Subtle humour and touching romance. Jon Bon Jovi once again proves that he can act. This is a good movie with a lot more to offer than just eye-candy for old rockers like myself.
I am a big fan of Bon Jovi the group and of Jon's. This is the 4th of Jon Bon Jovi's movies that I have bought. I thoroughly enjoyed the others but this is really the first one that I stopped thinking of him as Jon and was rooting for "Jamey". From watching his first movies I can see an enormous growth in his acting ability. He was excellent as were the rest of the cast. Jamey was funny, sweet, considerate and loving. From the first of the movie Jamey is trying to go down the straight and narrow to get his life back on track after taking the fall for his brother. But the world and his brother seem in cahoots to bring him down. I will watch this many times as it was well worth the money!