Backwards (2012)
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28% of critics liked it
(18 reviews) -
55% of users liked it
(376 ratings)
Abigail Brooks (Thomas) has spent her lifetime trying to win an Olympic rowing medal, sacrificing friendship, love, and a "normal life" along the way. When she is named an alternate on the Olympic team she quits in haste. Defeated, Abi moves back home with her widowed, workaholic mother… More Abigail Brooks (Thomas) has spent her lifetime trying to win an Olympic rowing medal, sacrificing friendship, love, and a "normal life" along the way. When she is named an alternate on the Olympic team she quits in haste. Defeated, Abi moves back home with her widowed, workaholic mother (Margaret Colin). Tension builds as Abi's mother urges her to "move on" from the rowing life that Abi's father, a coach, introduced her to. Unable to do so, but needing an immediate job, Abi seizes an open crew coach position at her alma mater, Union High. There, the head of athletics is her old boyfriend, Geoff (James Van Der Beek). Abi trains her high school rowers in an obsessive fashion, taking two girls, Hannah (Alexandra Metz) and Susan (Meredith Apfelbaum), under her wing. After the girls lose an important regional race, Abi reinvents herself as a coach, and, in the process, learns to have fun again both on the water and off. -- (C) Official Site
- Directed By
- Ben Hickernell
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Sports & Fitness
PG,
- In Theaters
- Sep 21, 2012 Limited
- Studio
- Dada Films
Critic Reviews
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Joe Leydon, Variety
Passably pleasant but thoroughly predictable.
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Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
A movie whose main virtue was its honesty ultimately lands in a place that feels canned and unsatisfying. But on the way there, Backwards isn't so bad.
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Stephanie Merry, Washington Post
The biggest problem ... is the characters who populate the film. For the most part, they're one-dimensional caricatures.
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Mark Feeney, Boston Globe
The neatness of the plotting becomes almost comical after a while. Construction is one thing; contrivance is another.
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Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
Although this modest indie may not make a huge splash, it just might inspire some hearty younger viewers - especially women - to grab a set of oars and find their bliss.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
No Featured Audience Ratings Found…
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Cast
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Sarah Megan Thomas
as Abigail Brooks
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James Van Der Beek
as Geoff
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Glenn Morshower
as Coach Spriklin
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Margaret Colin
as Dianne Brooks
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David Alan Basche
as Cox
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Alexandra Metz
as Hannah
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Meredith Apfelbaum
as Susan
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Alysia Reiner
as Meghan
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Wynn Everett
as Reba
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Ellis Walding
as Preston
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Liz Holtan
as Beth
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Marceline Hugot
as Mrs. Atkinson
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Alexa Salame
as Vanessa
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Reema Zaman
as Ticket Agent
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Jeanette Daily
as Kelsey
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Kiandra Wilshire
as Coxswain
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Mauri Honickman
as Jill
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Peter Pryor
as Abi's Dad
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Margo Shoenberg
as Young Abi
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Nicole Colina
as Rude Waitress
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Brian Cheng
as Loud Cashier
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April Yvette Thompson
as Airport Worker
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Christopher Mann
as Man
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Brea Bee
as Giselle
