THERE'S an interesting idea at the heart of the locally shot "Backwards": What happens when a person falls short of something she's trained for her entire life?
Unfortunately, this nugget of an idea is drowned out by a saccharine-sweet romantic comedy mixed with a "Hoosiers"-plus-crew subplot.
Abi (writer Sarah Megan Thomas) is a rower on the U.S. Olympic team. We meet her just as she has been relegated to alternate for the second time. She freaks, throws down her oars and quits, leaving her listless at her mother's suburban Philly home. After she rejects her mother's ("Gossip Girl's" Margaret Colin) attempts to get her gainful employment, Abi gets a job as the crew coach at her alma mater, Union Academy. Complicating matters is the issue of the school's athletic director, Geoff (James Van Der Beek), her high school boyfriend.
