Vision Quest

Don't let the title, or the fact that this movie is about wrestling, deter you as it almost did me. Vision Quest is not a campy sci-fi flick, nor is it about a sweaty muscle head frolicking around in a leotard to Cyndi Lauper; it's an entertaining tale with hints of the irreplaceable 1980's luster that most of the great films from that era provide.

Louden Swain is sort of a goofy character, but he's authentic and ironclad. Louden drives through the experiences of youth with all the wonder and ferocity anyone could hope for. A combination of solid writing and acting render him a palpable character who's easy to empathize with. The northwestern city atmosphere helps.

Linda Fiorentino puts out a relatively deep character, and her looks don't hurt anything. There are some good performances elsewhere; happily, there really aren't many two dimensional characters to speak of.

Initially, the movie feels a little kitsch, but if you stick with it, you'll find it's more about coming of age and romance than sports. Not really a mind-blowing script or anything too memorable, but not at all a bad way to blow ninety minutes.

A slightly different spin on the traditional Underdog Athlete Overcomes the Odds storyline, Vision Quest is a decent film for most viewers (for those who have actually endured the challenges of the collegiate wrestling world, the movie is practically required viewing!). Modine and Fiorentino, who went on to better-known films such as Equinox and Jade, respectively, are solid if unspectacular in roles as a high school wrestler and the world-weary object of his desires. Among the other notables who appear in the movie: a young Forrest Whitaker, James Gammon, Michael Schoeffling (Sixteen Candles), and Madonna, who contributed "Crazy For You" and "Gambler" to an underrated soundtrack. The wrestling sequences are gritty and realistic, as are the frequent portrayals of training. But the screenplay's dialogue is often choppy and does little to develop the potentially interesting characters. Subplots are hinted at but are not followed through with. And there is a lack of smooth transition between sequences. Still, Vision Quest is watchable and worthwhile as a rental (if you are a wrestler, this is especially true).

I have to be bias about this movie. First of all, I was high school wrestler, and there wasn't much out there for exposure in this sport. Yes, the plot is saturated with cliches: high school jock trying to fullfil a dream while winning the heart of a woman. It's so 80s! I needed a movie to psyche myself up and I was so inspired that it made me sweat in a rubber suit and starved myself till I dropped

(thankfully, I don't do that anymore). Bottom line is, this film is all about glory-and everbody dreams about glorifying themselves-and Louden Swain is no different. I also like to mention that this film has one of the best movie soundtrack

compilations ever (better than Rocky, and who wants to listen to Survivor over and over again).

Its not hard to understand why some viewers would dislike this movie, since less than .1% of the worlds population ever wrestled in a competitive environment.

But, for those that have, and for the friends and parents of those wrestlers, this movie is a solid 9/10 rating. The movie hits on every aspect of this sports tortuous rigor: losing weight every week, not eating, training, and the mental gymnastics involved with having to believe that you can beat anyone at anytime.

And most realistically, this movie also shows the hardships of doing what every other high school kid does, in combination with the rigors of the sport. They have love relationships, they have classmates, they have to deal with the teachers and coaches, as well as their own family, plus they have to deal with their own teammates each week who may want to take over the top position at their weight.

As one who had over 100 high school matches (15 years before the making of this movie), I can confirm that there is no better movie than this about high school wrestling. When you rate this movie you should not think about how good it is among all other movies, rather you should rate it solely based on its ability to achieve the objective of accurately portraying its subject.

I guess that some would think Louden is not a "team player", but wrestling is an individual sport, no matter how others would want to portray it (although if you win your team gets points). Now that this diatribe (which it might be to some) is about over, I will summarize as follows: Do not watch the movie if you don't care about seeing an exceptionally good story about high school wrestling, you won't like it!

From middle school to high, i watched this movie at least 4 times each wrestling and freestyle season. This movie depicts the weight cutting, inner team competitiveness, and young athlete determination of high school. But at the same time, it shows a young man juggling a job and "womanly needs". Shute is probably the coolest "villain" of all sport movies, and his scene with the pole and bleacher walk makes every schoolboy thank god they never wrestled him. Louden is your unlikely hero, but its realistic when you grow with him and watch him work for it. The acting in this movie is nothing to marvel at, but it does not hold or distract you from a great story. Even though i rated this movie a 7, it is one of my favorites, and is a true hidden gem.