All the Right Moves

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All the Right Moves

R

Released Sep 23, 1983

1h 31m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

61%

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23 Reviews

39%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Stefan Djordjevic (Tom Cruise), the star player of his high school football team, is desperately hoping that his football talents will earn him a scholarship -- his only chance to get out of his dying hometown of Ampipe, Pennsylvania. When a heated argument with his coach (Craig T. Nelson) gets him kicked off the team and blacklisted from college recruiters, Stefan must fight for a chance to live out his dream and escape the dead-end future he faces.

Critics Consensus

All the Right Moves is an uncommonly grim coming-of-age drama that overcomes numerous clichés with its realistic approach to its characters and setting.

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Variety Staff

Variety

All the Right Moves crackles with authenticity.

Mar 26, 2009

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Ian Nathan

Empire Magazine

Cliched and clunky. Not really a great showcase for Cruise or Chris Penn.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 7, 2007

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Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

his naive little movie hopes to prove itself the Flashdance of football.

Aug 7, 2007

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David Parkinson

Radio Times

Even the gridiron action smacks of the real thing, as does the sense of just how much high-school ball games mean to the local community.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 8, 2020

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Lawrence O'Toole

Maclean's Magazine

Although the characters are not especially interesting in themselves, their predicament is, and it is one that untold others share.

Sep 8, 2020

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S. Jhoanna Robledo

Common Sense Media

One saving grace is watching Tom Cruise in one of his early roles, showing the charisma that would make him a huge star.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 4, 2018

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Monsieur P

This movie is fine for a 1983 movie about the obstacles of a no name town with no opportunities, as depicted from a highschool Sr. I'm surprised the ratings are so low. I had a lot of friends from the Midwest in the military and they described their life as so. I also remember all the "babies having babies" talk show themes in the 90s so this movie was ahead of the curb. Strong performances by the leads and an entertaining movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/24/25

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Jelisije J

This is an excellent sports movie abou a small town team of high school kids that are feeling the pressure every single day to make something of their lives and try to be better off then their parents in a small town. They must make all the right moves in order to make it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/11/25

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Dave P

Hadn’t seen it for a while, but it came across the TV this afternoon. Great coming of age movie. I had a similar experience in school myself so maybe it hits home, but it’s well paced and lots of life lessons. Tom was just starting to show his acting chops. I have never been one to worry about actor’s personal lives so Tom remains one of my favourite actors. I always believe he’s the character and not Tom Cruise.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/06/24

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mark g

This is a pretty well done movie. I played high school football in this era and thought the film related the times and essence pretty damn good. A better soundtrack probably would have made this film much bigger. Solid story of football and living in a dying town. Very good movie.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/21/24

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Chris A

Decent 80s movie. Tom Cruise turned out to be a weirdo but he does make decent movies. This is a fall movie. Trying watching then.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/19/23

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John A

Not a bad coming-of-age/sports drama however this early 80's football-centered film suffers a bit from the lack of developing it's stakes to a more involving level.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/02/23

Full Review

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Michael Chapman

Director

Tom Cruise

Stefen Djordjevic

Craig T. Nelson

Nickerson

Lea Thompson

Lisa

Charles Cioffi

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Synopsis

Stefan Djordjevic (Tom Cruise), the star player of his high school football team, is desperately hoping that his football talents will earn him a scholarship -- his only chance to get out of his dying hometown of Ampipe, Pennsylvania. When a heated argument with his coach (Craig T. Nelson) gets him kicked off the team and blacklisted from college recruiters, Stefan must fight for a chance to live out his dream and escape the dead-end future he faces.

Director: Michael Chapman
Producer: Stephen Deutsch
Screenwriter: Michael Kane
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 23, 1983, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 23, 2016
Runtime: 1h 31m

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