Stronger - Review

The second Boston marathon movie this year is upon us and you can tell that this film is going for the Oscars whereas Patriots Day was more of a Hollywood version of the whole story regarding the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. Stronger pays its focus to one man, Jeff Bauman who lost his legs in the bombing. Some things right off the bat. I was lucky enough to visit Boston in May of this year (2017) and I was able to explore most of the big city. When watching this movie, something dawned on me, why is it that in every single movie that takes place in Boston, why does there have to be a family or person that has the hardcore Boston accent and is completely unintelligent white trash? When I was in Boston, I didn't hear a single "Boston" accent. Nobody talked like Peter Griffin and everybody (except for this one Latin fellow who tried to sell me a Tom Brady Patriots jersey) sounded very kind and intelligent. You wouldn't get that from the movies though. Movies like this, Patriots Day, Ted, The Fighter, The Town, Gone Baby Gone, among others all make Bostonians look like complete morons. While Jeff Bauman was portrayed as a likable yet stupid guy, I hated his family and friends. They were portrayed as drunk, unintelligent scum who of course just happens to have the hardcore accent thrown in there too. While I may never be able to forgive Boston for 2011 (where they beat my Canucks to win the Stanley Cup) I don't understand why all Bostonians are made to look like stereotypical, fat, stupid Americans. Go Sox you retaaaaad! Anyways, as for the movie itself, it shows something that isn't really tackled in movies and that is how some people can reek in the benefits of other people's tragedy. Jeff Bauman never understood how he became a hero by just standing in a certain place when a bomb went off and losing his legs. He got to wave the flag at the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Final game, was invited to go on Oprah and got to throw the opening pitch at a Red Sox game because he was considered a hero. However, this film shows us that his mother, his "friends" and family could possibly using Jeff's tragedy for their own benefit. It also shows how a tragedy like this affects relationships. I will admit, this is a hard one to get through cause it deals with a traumatic experience and it can get fairly graphic and uncomfortable, but it is a well-written movie with an excellent performance by Jake Gyllenhaal. A tough watch, but a good one too.