Row Your Boat

Starring:Jon Bon Jovi, Ling Bai, William Forsythe, Jill Hennessy, Peter Kwong, John Ventimiglia, Thomas Lennon (III), Bridget Moynahan, William J. Mendola, Alvin Walker, John Quincy Lee, Diane Chang, Huan Wang, Quentin Heggs, Alysia Reiner, Eileen Galindo, Joey Vega
Director: Sollace Mitchell
Studio: York Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Taking its title from a children's song and its story of crime and redemption from countless American indie dramas, Row Your Boat is a sweet and not altogether predictable tale of recently released convict Jamey Meadows (Jon Bon Jovi) trying to get it right the second time around. Refusing help from his brother and former partner in crime (William Forsythe), he gets a job as a census taker to save enough cash for an apartment. On his rounds he meets pretty Chinese immigrant Chun Hua (Bai Ling), the unhappy trophy wife of a 60-year-old businessman, and spends his off hours teaching her English just for her company. True love? Maybe not, but she could be Jamey's second chance if he can stay clear of his brother, whose debts to a local loan shark push him to ever more desperate schemes. Writer-director Sollace Mitchell never quite avoids the clichés of the smalltime urban crime drama, but his refreshingly matter-of-fact direction balances the dangerous with the mundane. There's nothing glamorous in these minor heists or in Jamey's efforts to keep his self-respect and hope alive while living out of homeless shelters and killing time on the streets. Perhaps that's why this modest film got lost in the shuffle: it avoids the easy drama of violent showdowns to explore the real struggle of surviving the streets. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

row your boat.......2005-12-24

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!!!!!

Satisfaction guaranteed.......2004-01-22

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

hot.......2004-01-16

Jon Bon Jovi is soooooooooooooo sexy. Especially in the opening scene where he goes shirtless. And his acting in this movie is really good.

JON WAS GREAT!.......2003-07-04

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!!

World class acting from Jon Bon Jovi!.......2003-07-04

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.

Average customer rating:

Something the heart, something blame, you something something a bad name...

Row Your Boat

Manufacturer: Digiview Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

The Leading Man
Homegrown
Moonlight and Valentino
Destination Anywhere: The Film

ASIN: B000FLKJ2S

Product Description

Eighties rock band Bon Jovi's frontman, Jon Bon Jovi (Moonlight and Valentino, Pay it Foward) stars in this movie about an ex-convict trying to once again find his place in the world. 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 isidious 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 dray him back to where he started?

Customer Reviews:

Something the heart, something blame, you something something a bad name..........2007-05-23

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?)

Average customer rating:

row your boat
Satisfaction guaranteed
hot
JON WAS GREAT!
World class acting from Jon Bon Jovi!

Row Your Boat
Starring: Jon Bon Jovi , Ling Bai , William Forsythe , Jill Hennessy , and Peter Kwong
Director: Sollace Mitchell
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Leading Man
Little City
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Moonlight and Valentino
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ASIN: B0000C88KG

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

row your boat.......2005-12-24

Satisfaction guaranteed.......2004-01-22

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

hot.......2004-01-16

Jon Bon Jovi is soooooooooooooo sexy. Especially in the opening scene where he goes shirtless. And his acting in this movie is really good.

JON WAS GREAT!.......2003-07-04

World class acting from Jon Bon Jovi!.......2003-07-04

Average customer rating:

Row Your Boat
Starring: Featuring Rob Moffatt
Director: Anita Moffatt; Photographed by Todd Elgin
Manufacturer: Elgin & Moffatt
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Product Description

"Row Your Boat" is a 7-minute movie that helps people think about what death and dying means to them. It has been used by churches, schools and hospitals as a conversation starter about death and dying.

Average customer rating:

Row Your Boat
Starring: William Forsythe Bai Ling
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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