To fully appreciate Boy in Blue, it's helpful to know a little bit about the sport of "sculling"-or competitive rowing.
Nicolas Cage stars as the real-life Ned Hanlan, who at the turn of the century was Canada's foremost sculling champ. A wild, uncontrollable youth, Hanlan is "adopted" by a gambler named Bill (
David Naughton), who promotes the boy on the sculling circuit for his own monetary gain. Ruthlessly businessman Knox (
Christopher Plummer) assumes control of Hanlan's career, but when Ned discovers just how ruthless Knox can be, he casts his lot with the first honest man he's met, inventor-speculator Walter (
Sean Sullivan). Hanlan's professional success is capped by his marriage to Margaret (Cynthia Dale), Knox's previously unattainable niece. The by-the-numbers Boy in Blue was given an R rating due to a few disposable sex scenes, thereby cutting its potential audience (hero-worshipping youths) in half. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide