Although based on true events with scriptwriter Vojin Gjaja drawing on his own experiences, Heart of Champions is largely fictional.
The story follows the usual pattern of underdog sports team composed of disparate members carting around a ton of emotional baggage which prevents their coming together as a team and winning.
When hard-as-nails Coach Murphy, a tough Army vet played by Shannon, is hired to turn the rowing team into winners, he manages to whip them into shape with his hard-edged "No man is an island" philosophy.
As is usual, the coach's methods offend the college's well-heeled donor (David James Elliott) who demands his son captain the team.
The water scenes are beautiful. I believe it was filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The setting is supposed to be the fictional Belston University—no geographic location is actually named. Belston is supposed to be a top Ivy League school.
If this were a novel, the target audience would probably be Young Adult/New Adult/College/high school because that would be the generation with the story's growing pains, angst of young love, and kids who have too much versus kids who come from nothing.
It's supposed to be a feel-good movie, and there are scenes that create that feeling. However, the ending which one expects to be of winning the title because of lessons learned and hard work paying off isn't really shown.
I found it to be an okay flick but a little disappointing at the end. Of course, I'm not a newly-minted adult so my expectations for story are probably higher. Don't let my ho-hum review deter you from watching it.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
If you're a member of the target audience for this kind of story, you'll probably like this film because it will speak to you on a more personal level than it did for me. If you do watch it, leave a comment and tell me what you thought.
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