Vision Quest (1985)

I was sort of old when this movie came out 30 years ago. I'm a lot older now and more than any time in my life I'm trying to make weight. For most of my time on this planet I struggled heroically to put on a few pounds of muscle. These days I step on my scale at least three times a day as if I will somehow magically transform into the perfect physical specimen I picture myself to be. I ride my bike into the ground. I do pull-ups in the park with young punks who could be my grand kids if I had kids. Perhaps this is why I found this umpteenth viewing of Vision Quest to be so rewarding.I could have done without the whole poontang sideline. It would have been better if the film focused more on how his vision quest affected him at school. I think this is a better message than the sexual discovery angle…and a lot less clichéd and boring.The last thing that I'd do would be to talk about what this move means. I don't look for life lessons in movies. Vision Quest is just plain fun. I also don't really look to movies for inspiration but if I did Vision Quest would be a good place to start. There is nothing new or original in this story but I would rate it as one of the top sports movies of all time. Rocky sucked in comparison (Rocky sucks compared to anything). It has aged very well.-I wasn't a high school wrestler but I busted my butt training in jiu-jitsu for several years and I have to say that it was the most competitive thing I've ever experienced so I get wrestling more now that when I first saw the movie.-Loudon doing the peg board is about as good as sports movies get—a great scene.-Even the mid 80's soundtrack doesn't seem corny or dated all these years later. Journey was the worst band in the freaking world. Foreigner was a close second. I hated all the music in the film but in this context it's cool.-The scene with the cook telling him about Pele was corny and underwritten but it was a great idea. -Most of the kids in the movie actually look like high school kids. In so many films and TV they have 30 year olds in these roles.-The character of Shute was more of a monster than the thing in Alien. Well done! -I've always thought that it was cute how they make wrestling out to be some sort of popular and glamorous high school sport. Everyone knows everything about the team and the gym is packed for matches. I doubt this is the case anywhere… but it should be.

Matthew Modine plays Louden Swain a high school wrestler who tries to shed 23 pounds in a dangerously short time so that he can challenged the 168 lb. champion named Brian Shute. He goes on a Vision Quest to accomplish something truly meaningful which beating Shute who's an undefeated 3 time state champion would accomplish.Meanwhile his dad takes in a boarder from New Jersey who's making her way across country on her way to California named Carla. Even though Carla is a few years older then Louden starts to fall for Carla which makes him start to lose his focus on his wrestling. The drastic amount of weight cutting he's doing leads Louden to start to develop nosebleeds and fainting.If you're an athlete in any sport this is a good movie to help motivate you to accomplish whatever goals you want to do in your chosen sport.

This is a classic 80's movie that's actually quite enjoyable. The acting is a little uneven, but not enough to ruin the film. The monotone performance of Linda Fiorentino contrasts with Matthew Modine's child-like wonderment persona, yet they still somehow have chemistry. The character, Louden Swain, is a die-hard optimist who has big dreams for the future. Matthew Modine does an inspiring job in becoming this character. Bottom-line, this movie is all Modine. He carried this film and it would never have worked without him. Whenever I call in at work, this is my "go to" movie that I pop in to pass the time. It's a fun movie that you can watch over and over again. Yes, parts of it are quite cheesy but that's what makes it even more amusing. Great 80's soundtrack too! Enjoy!-RM

I saw this movie about one or two years ago and just recently rented it last week and I love it. I saw someone typed that people depreciate it because of not living through the 80s while I was born in the 90s and I love the 80s, and especially this brilliant 80s movie that as my summary is that 1985 was a good year during the 80s. Louden Swain is a young adult that just turned 18 and states in the beginning: "I'm Louden. Louden Swain. I turned 18 last week, I wasn't ready to. There's so much I haven't done yet. So I made a deal with myself, this is the year I make my mark." So when Louden's coach whoever would like to challenge the number one man in his weight class, Louden's hand goes up and the coach says he is already number one at 190 he says he knows and then Kusch complains that he should stay in his own division and that he's not giving up his spot. After that the coach pulls him aside and then Louden says he's going to drop to 168 and wrestle Shout. After the coach tells Louden he's insane, he tells Louden he'll let him wrestle 178 against Kusch but if not he'll go back to his own division. He wins and starts his training to make it down to 168. After coming back from his hotel job he see's Carla telling a car salesman that he sold her a lemon. Louden's dad works as a mechanic and punches him in the face. Then Louden's dad tells Louden to take Carla down to get a hamburger. Louden asks Carla why she's down in Spokane since she's from New Jersey and won't tell Louden what she's doing. Louden asks how old she is and tells him 21 so there's a three year difference. Louden's dad loses his job and then Louden and his dad let her live with them. After Carla has been living under Louden and his father's roof he falls in love with her. Which is inflicted with his plan to wrestle Shout. Later on when Louden see's Carla with Mr. Tammeran, Louden's English teacher, he thinks that they're having sexual relations and refuses to talk to Carla, and attempts to have sex with her and Carla pushes him off and tells him that part of being a man is knowing what a woman wants and respecting that, and that part of being a kid is that he could say something stupid and still get his face ripped off for saying it. Louden continues to get nosebleeds from not having enough iron, and Carla says he should eat more spinach. He says he's sorry but she walks out of the room. She shows that she forgives Louden by coming to one of his wrestling matches, and later when their in the coffee shop he tells her that he doesn't care if she's doing "it" with Mr. Tammeran, and Carla then kisses him. Later on in the movie they travel up to see Louden's grandpa and later Carla tells Louden that he has a lifetime left and what about his vision quest to defeat Shout and the girls to make love too and when he asks her to name one she pulls him towards herself and then it happens. A day before the match though, Carla leaves, and when Louden doesn't show, Coach asks where he and Kusch says he'll be there. Right before the forfeit Louden arrives and makes the weight. Then before he has to wrestle Carla comes in and Louden is upset that Carla left and didn't say goodbye and then Carla tells him that if she didn't leave he wouldn't be wrestling Shout, and then right after she says goodbye she tells Louden to beat Shout. Carla stays for Louden's match.Louden does get a nose bleed during the match but still wins. This movie is a must see rather you want to see a really good sports movie,or a really good 80s movie.