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Vision Quest

Play trailer Poster for Vision Quest R 1985 1h 47m Drama Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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60% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
High school wrestler Louden Swain (Matthew Modine) feels he must do something significant in his life shortly after turning 18. Despite vehement advice against it from his father (Ronny Cox) and coach (Charles Hallahan), Swain decides to try to lose over 20 pounds in a very short time in an attempt to take on the defending state champion of a lower weight class. Meanwhile, he falls for the edgy, older Carla (Linda Fiorentino), who provides further distraction for the young wrestler.
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Vision Quest

Critics Reviews

View All (15) Critics Reviews
Paul Attanasio Washington Post That's the problem with all of "Vision Quest" -- when the movie ends with Louden narrating off-screen his "live for today" philosophy, it's plausible in his mouth, a joke for adults. Jan 4, 2018 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times A movie with some nice surprises, mostly because it takes the time to create some interesting characters. Rated: 3.5/4 Oct 23, 2004 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews Vision Quest improves substantially as it progresses into a midsection rife with appealing, entertaining subplots... Rated: 2.5/4 May 12, 2022 Full Review Kenneth R. Morefield 1More Film Blog I would hardly be the first critic to suggest that its rote sports-movie structure and the presence of Linda Fiorentino as an implausibly available older woman masks Vision Quest's strange homoerotic subtext. Rated: 3.5/5.0 Feb 14, 2019 Full Review Chuck O'Leary FulvueDrive-in.com Rated: 2/5 May 7, 2007 Full Review Susan Granger www.susangranger.com Rated: 2/5 Oct 27, 2006 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (346) audience reviews
Doug C For anyone who grew up in the 80’s this is a must watch. It has all the elements of being a teenager, an American and an incredible sound track. Linda Fiorentino was every teenage boys dream, do yourself a favor and watch it, you won’t be sorry 💪💪💪👏👏👏 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/30/24 Full Review Sabrina F I am not a sports movie person, but Vision Quest is one of the exceptions to the rule. This is not the standard sports film that follows all of the same beats. Louden does not want to win the state championship. He just wants to cute weight so that he can wrestle the toughest wrestler in the 168-weight class. Louden is not the typical dumb jock. He is strong in his academics as well as his athletics. He is driven and will do anything to succeed in his goals. Louden is a likable and relatable character. You root for him. There is nothing over-the-top about this film. It is predictable but still perfectly-paced and enjoyable. I liked all of the main characters, and the soundtrack is amazing. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/25/24 Full Review John B Best wrestling movie ever made. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/02/24 Full Review Pablo B I remember watching this movie as a kid and how much I loved it. I recently went back to watch it and see how well it has held up and was just as fond of this movie as my younger self was. One of the most iconic scenes in the movie has the most iconic lines that I think is an excellent barometer that most writers today overlook. When Louden goes to visit Shute in his workout, the iconic scene where Brian Shute is intensely working out carrying the log up the stadium stairs. It's incredible how the writers don't make Brian out to be some maniac villain, the exchange between the two is something along the lines of "Are you going to make weight?", "I hope so.", "I hope so too." There didn't need to be some Mcguffin as to why Louden wants or needs to beat Shute. Outside of that the soundtrack to this movie is just absolutely incredible. Maybe it's nostalgia, but this movie still is five stars for me. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/14/23 Full Review Nisha Y This is an honest film, while it doesn't escape the male point of view it's main character does well to embody the 80's ideal of a heterosexual male who doesn't fall into homophobia or misogyny. And even though it doesn't escape the white person's point of view, it is also honest about the use of Indian culture by non-indigenous people which hints to a tacit feeling of the power of indigenous culture that could be learned from; and the African American actors are placed in roles of respect. The pace at times canters when it should be galloping and the leads don't always pull off the romantic interactions, but for an 80's high school coming of age flick it's great... and Modine offers purity to the role that makes you long to be that age again. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Matthew Modine plays Louden Swain who just turned 18 and partakes in wrestling in his high school things change though when he wants to lose more weight down to 168 ilbs, more to the point he meets an older woman Carla played by Linda Fiorentino living in his house and he wants to woo her any way he can although he may be losing his focus on the sport since he's so taken by her his father played by Ronny Cox is worried about staying on point between becoming a doctor while also applying for a scholarship is it possible Loudin may be exerting himself too much between exhaustion and nose bleeds? Michael Schoeffling plays his buddy Kuch claiming he's of Indian descent but Kuch doesn't live a glamorous lifestyle at home, he still always has his back Loudin even feels like a character out a poem; most of us may know that we're dying slowly and we don't think about it the thing is if we put off all the important things we want to do time will drift away and before we know it we're all out of time part of being a man is knowing what a woman wants, part of being a kid is you can say a lot of stupid stuff without getting smacked in the face for it, we all have our own vision quests in life and nobody has all the answers, we can live and die doing things on our own but also surrounded by the people we love and who love us Modine is excellent, Fiorentino is wonderful, the wrestling aspect is handled quite nicely, and I enjoy the theme song by a young and upcoming Madonna it's a decent effort even if it feels routine overall Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Vision Quest

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Movie Info

Synopsis High school wrestler Louden Swain (Matthew Modine) feels he must do something significant in his life shortly after turning 18. Despite vehement advice against it from his father (Ronny Cox) and coach (Charles Hallahan), Swain decides to try to lose over 20 pounds in a very short time in an attempt to take on the defending state champion of a lower weight class. Meanwhile, he falls for the edgy, older Carla (Linda Fiorentino), who provides further distraction for the young wrestler.
Director
Harold Becker
Producer
Jon Peters, Peter Guber
Screenwriter
Darryl Ponicsan
Production Co
Warner Bros., The Guber-Peters Company
Rating
R
Genre
Drama, Romance
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 24, 2008
Runtime
1h 47m
Sound Mix
Surround
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