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This made-for-television biopic about celebrated American diver Greg Louganis (1960-present) is a well-meaning introduction to an inspirational figure, who overcame intense bullying and discrimination throughout his youth to become a record-breaking Olympic champion. Based on the athlete's engaging, bestselling biography (co-written by Eric Marcus and published in 1996), this adaptation is restricted by its budget and time of production; real-life footage isn't very seamlessly integrated with the rest of the film and our gay protagonist is never seen kissing another man. Louganis is portrayed by Patrick David and Mario Lopez for a bulk of the piece, and both deliver effective performances in a very worthwhile, if not too in-depth, movie.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

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Audience Member

Great story (probably cause its true lol). I liked the book better, the movie cut a few parts out which I believed were fairly important - which is the reason it doesn't get 5 stars :)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Audience Member

it was very good. his abusive boyfiriend was a jerk. i wish mario lopez was in more movies.it was really sad when his father died of lung cancer. it was a good story.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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The acting is not up to par but the story is inspiring.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

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Audience Member

great composition of mario lopez

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

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I can distictly remeber watching the Olympics when Greg Louganis hit his head on the diving board, and I remember how shocked we all were. Add in the fact that he's gay and I was curious about his story. Plus, I was a diver myself. I'm not sure if Breaking the Surface is a Lifetime Movie or not. I'm gonna say no, but it has that same feel. And Mario Lopez clearly got the part for his looks, so be prepared to annoying by his "acting". But if you want to see this, you won;t care about any of those shortcomings. This is for fans of Greg Louganis.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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Steven Hilliard Stern

Director

Mario López

Greg Louganis

Michael Murphy

Pete Louganis

Rosemary Dunsmore

Frances Louganis

Jeffrey Meek

Tom Barrett

Megan Leitch

Megan

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Five Favorite Films with Greg Louganis

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Synopsis

Bullied as a child and misunderstood by his adoptive father (Michael Murphy), Greg Louganis (Mario Lopez) nevertheless trains hard as a diver and eventually wins Olympic gold. But his victories do not make his personal life any easier. He endures a tumultuous relationship with his lover/manager Tom Barrett (Jeff Meek), from whom he contracts HIV. Tom dies of AIDS, and Louganis resolves to come out publicly as a homosexual athlete before going on to win still more medals in the 1988 Olympics.

Director: Steven Hilliard Stern
Producer: Jim Green, Allen S. Epstein
Screenwriter: Alan Hines
Production Co: Green/Epstein Productions, World International Network (WIN), USA Network Pictures
Rating: TV-PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 22, 2017
Runtime: 1h 36m

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