Personal Best (1982)

This film is quite dated, but that's okay. No mention of steroids, in a pre-Ben Johnson track and field world. Well, I guess that's not quite true, as one coach did mention things that could inadvertently show up on a test. But that was it. And I remember how things were in the late Seventies, with casual dope-smoking everywhere, and no one really cared much one way or another. The big deal at the time, was the relationship between the two main characters. That would be celebrated today, and the weed-smoking utterly condemned. Patrice Donnelly did very well to not be a professional actress at the time. Mariel Hemingway did very well also, showing her character as naive and almost child-like. There were a few nude scenes, that may have been titillating, but did not seem at all gratuitous. (I recall that Miss Hemingway got a huge boob job for her very next role in Star 80) Overall, I still liked this film.

There have been so many things said about this particular movie . . . in my opinion (for what it's worth) I found this movie to be simply . . . .Excellent . . . Period ! Released in 1982, Personal Best is about Chris Cahill (played wonderfully by Mariel Hemmingway) who, along with Tory Skinner (played by Patrice Donnely) get romanticaly involved while commpetting in the olympics. Although this movie deals with certain sensitive subjects, the movie as a whole has an excellent storyline and ....when it comes down to it, love for another person. Writer and Director Robert Towne did an excellent job on this movie, and Mariel Hemmingway is (and always will be) an absolute Babe ! This movie is out on DVD. For excellent entertainment, Get This Movie !! You won't be disappointed. Enjoy !

Excellent, the relationship, more friendship than sex between 2 women who are friends, lovers and rivals at the same time. At the end they are just friends. Not many movies about track and of course probably this is the only one about the intimacy of the relations between the runners, the difficulties of being not only lovers, but rivals that want the same prize. I liked it very much, instead of your typical sports film of difficulties until the final triumph, here we have the everyday training of this athletes, not famous, but hard workers. The final irony is they classify for the 80 olympic games and they could´t go.

Mariel Hemingway stars in what is perhaps the most defining film of her career, a vehicle that displays her acting talents at what is probably her own 'personal best'.In "PERSONAL BEST", Mariel is Chris Cahill, a young and attractive bi-sexual athlete competing at the Olympic Team Trials for the 1980 Olympic Games to be held in Los Angeles. Her character is defined as somewhat naive, but she is guided through her sexuality phase with the help of Tory Skinner (wonderfully played by Patrice Donnelly). Whether the two characters are lesbian or not is beside the point, what "PERSONAL BEST" tries to deal with is the hardship of having a relationship at a trying time in your life. In this case, both Chris and Tory are competing for a place in the Olympic Team and they both help each other emotionally and physically to achieve their goals.The two girls both deal with sexual confusion which distracts them on and off the field. Their coach is played by Scott Glenn who plays a hard and despicable character who 'pushes' them too hard to achieve their personal best."PERSONAL BEST" is filled with unnecessary nudity including countless scenes inside a sauna where you get to see young female athletes baring all. There are also several explicit sex scenes involving Chris and Tory which would probably not be suitable for younger children. One questionable scene involves Chris and a male athlete/temporary love interest in a bizarre toilet scene that has absolutely nothing to do with the movie - but other than that, the rest of the film is quite inspirational.When the movie isn't trying to be serious, there are some comedic moments including a scene where Chris asks Tory to 'pull her finger'. Another thing "PERSONAL BEST" successfully achieves is building a story around a 'lesbian relationship' without delving into silly stereo-types and cliché's that spoiled other films of the same time (ie. "WINDOWS" and "THE LONELY LADY").When it all boils down to it, what drove Chris and Tory to achieve their personal best was not endless training and their physical attributes, but their love and friendship for each other which was something that would probably last forever. "PERSONAL BEST" is a film about athletics and it is also a love story.Yes, Mariel Hemingway has starred in a lot of trash (ie. "LIPSTICK", "SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE", "BAD MOON") - but it is "PERSONAL BEST" which I remember her the most for. Patrice Connelly was also a very good actress, but she has since retired from acting after appearing in only two films. This movie brought back a lot of memories about the 70's and the 80's and how innocent love could be in times that weren't so troubled.I highly recommend this film, not just for sports enthusiasts, but for also those who are seeking a romantic love story.My rating - 8 out of 10