All the Right Moves (film)
All the Right Moves | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Michael Chapman |
Written by | Michael Kane |
Produced by | Stephen Deutsch |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Jan de Bont |
Edited by | David Garfield |
Music by | David Richard Campbell |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $5.6 million[1] |
Box office | $17,233,166[2] |
All the Right Moves is a 1983 American sports drama film directed by Michael Chapman and starring Tom Cruise, Craig T. Nelson, Lea Thompson, Chris Penn, and Gary Graham. It was filmed on location in Johnstown, Pennsylvania,[3][4][5] and Pittsburgh.
Plot[]
Stefen "Stef" Djordjevic is a Serbian American high school defensive back who is gifted in both sports and academics. He is seeking a college football scholarship to escape the economically depressed small Western Pennsylvania town of Ampipe and a dead-end job and life working at the mill, just like his father and brother Greg. He dreams of becoming an engineer right after he graduates from college. Ampipe is a company town whose economy is dominated by the town's main employer, American Pipe & Steel, a steel mill struggling through the downturn of the early 1980s recession. Stef gets through his days with the love of his girlfriend, Lisa Lietzke, and his strong bond with his teammates.
In the big football game against the undefeated Walnut Heights High School, Ampipe appears headed to win the game, when a fumbled handoff in the closing seconds—as well as Stefen's pass interference penalty earlier in the game—lead to Walnut Heights' victory. Following the game, Coach Burt Nickerson lambastes the fumbler in the locker room, telling him he "quit" the game. When Stefen retorts that the coach himself quit, the coach kicks him off the team.
In the aftermath, disgruntled Ampipe fans vandalize Coach Nickerson's house and yard. Stefen is present and is a reluctant participant, but is nonetheless seen by Nickerson as the vandals flee. From there, Stefen deals with personal battles, including dealing with the coach blackballing him among colleges because of his attitude and participation in the vandalism. Stefen gets in an argument with Lisa, and his best friend Brian declines a scholarship offer to USC and plans to marry his pregnant girlfriend.
Frustrated by what Nickerson did, Stefan angrily confronts his former coach which ends in a shouting match out in the street. But Lisa decides to talk to Nickerson's wife to try and help. Nickerson realizes he was wrong for blackballing Stefan. He has accepted a coaching position on the West Coast at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and offers Stefen a full scholarship to play football there, which he accepts.
Cast[]
- Tom Cruise as Stefan Djordjevic
- Craig T. Nelson as Coach Burt Nickerson
- Lea Thompson as Lisa Lietzke[6]
- Charles Cioffi as Pop
- Gary Graham as Greg Djordjevic
- Paul Carafotes as Vinnie Salvucci
- Chris Penn as Brian Riley
- Leon as Austin "Shadow" Williams
- Sandy Faison as Suzie Nickerson
- James A. Baffico as Bosko
- Mel Winkler as Jess Covington
- Terry O'Quinn as Freeman Smith
Production[]
The film was produced by Stephen Deutsch, with Phillip Goldfarb as co-producer. Gary Morton of Lucille Ball Productions was executive producer. The production was filmed over seven weeks in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in the early spring of 1983.[5][7] The recently closed sixty-year-old high school (40°19′18″N 78°55′18″W / 40.3217°N 78.9217°W), the former campus of Greater Johnstown High School, was used as the location of the film, along with Point Stadium.[4] Actress Thompson was inserted as a new student at Ferndale Area High School for three days prior to shooting.[3][5][8] Cruise was similarly inserted into Greater Johnstown High School, but was recognized immediately.[9] (His only notable film part at the time was in Taps in 1981; The Outsiders and Risky Business were yet to be released.)
In 2018, Thompson stated she initially did not want the part, as the script required her to participate in two nude scenes, but Cruise persuaded the producers to drop one of the scenes.[10]
Reception[]
The film was released to mixed reviews. It has a score of 61% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 23 reviews.[11] On Metacritic it has a score of 62% based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[12]
Jay Carr from The Boston Globe stated "Cruise is believable as an athlete,"[citation needed] and Janet Maslin of The New York Times called it "a well-made but sugar-coated working-class fable about a football star."[13] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 3 out of 4 and wrote: "Two people finally tell each other the truth. This is, of course, an astonishing breakthrough in movies about teenagers, and All the Right Moves deserves it."[14] Locally, Ed Blank of the Pittsburgh Press saw it as flawed, but captured the look of Johnstown,[15] and Marylynn Urucchio of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette rated it as elementary but uplifting.[16]
Among the unfavorable reviews, TV Guide called the movie "cliche-riddled" and criticized director Michael Chapman for not taking any risks.[17] Richard Corliss of Time called it a "naive little movie (that) hopes to prove itself the Flashdance of football."[18]
References[]
- ^ All the Right Moves at the American Film Institute Catalog
- ^ "All the Right Moves (1983)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Urrichio, Marylynn (April 4, 1983). "Johnstown scores as movie site again". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 21.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Town has illusion". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. March 15, 1983. p. 19.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Film brings Johnstown temporary aid". New York Times. Associated Press. March 21, 1983. p. A11.
- ^ "Yes? -Mrs. Nickerson, my name is Lisa Lietzke quotes". Subzin.com. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
- ^ Dalton, Terry (March 17, 1983). "Film-making in Pa. turns into a reel moneymaker". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. p. 13.
- ^ Scott, Vernon (November 28, 1983). "Actress Lea Thompson goes undercover". UPI. (archives). Retrieved June 25, 2018.
- ^ "Johnstown Sees Film As Rescuer". The Palm Beach Post. Associated Press. March 15, 1983. p. A2. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
- ^ "Lea Thompson Gushes About Her Career, Family, and Making Movies With Her Daughters! (Exclusive)". Closer Weekly. 2018-06-09. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
- ^ "All the Right Moves(1983)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- ^ "All the Right Moves". Metacritic. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (October 21, 1983). "Film: 'All the Right Moves' in Football". The New York Times.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (October 25, 1983). "All the Right Moves". Chicago Sun-Times.
- ^ Blank, Ed (October 21, 1983). "'Right Moves' flawed but captures the look of Johnstown". Pittsburgh Press. p. B10.
- ^ Urucchio, Marylynn (October 21, 1983). "Acting scores in 'Right Moves'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 27.
- ^ "All the Right Moves". TVGuide.com.
- ^ Richard Corliss (1983). "Cinema: Winning Ugly". Time.
External links[]
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: All the Right Moves |
- 1983 films
- English-language films
- 1980s sports drama films
- 20th Century Fox films
- American coming-of-age drama films
- American romantic drama films
- American films
- American teen romance films
- Serbian-American culture
- Films directed by Michael Chapman
- Films set in Pennsylvania
- Films shot in Pennsylvania
- American football films
- High school football films
- 1980s high school films
- 1983 directorial debut films
- 1983 drama films