Personal Best (film)

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Personal Best
PersonalBest1982.jpg
Directed byRobert Towne
Written byRobert Towne
Produced byRobert Towne
Starring
CinematographyMichael Chapman
Edited by
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
February 5, 1982
Running time
124 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million[1]
Box office$5,672,311[2]

Personal Best is a 1982 American drama film written, produced, and directed by Robert Towne. The movie stars Mariel Hemingway and real-life track star Patrice Donnelly, along with Scott Glenn as the coach of the track team.

Plot summary[]

Chris Cahill and Tory Skinner are young women who both play track-and-field. Chris is upset about her difficulty reaching her potential, while Tory is very skilled. After Chris faints in a bar, Tory drives her home, and they become friends. She consoles her, while she stresses. After a while, they have sex and fall in love.

Coach Terry Tingloff, who is very upset, says Chris can play on his team, but at first he refuses to teach her. Later, Tory successfully persuades Tingloff to let Chris run the trials. She later has fun playing on the team. The team learns that they will perform at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Tingloff gets enraged because Tory asks to not finish the last two events in a race. She wants to help Chris, who is sick, but Chris wants to perform in the race. Chris criticizes Tingloff for his treatment of Tory.

Tingloff promises Chris a room, board, and tuition for the next year. However, she would have to stay during the summer with him. At first, she accepts the offer, but she changes her mind and decides to decline the offer. The women decide to skip a pentathlon to train at home. Tingloff becomes impressed with Chris's improvement. Chris becomes excited about her higher ranks.

During an argument on their way to practice, Tory and Chris almost break up over what they fear about each other (specifically how much they worry about each other). While practicing a high jump, Chris breaks her leg. Tory confesses to moving the mark while showing her how to lengthen her approach, in order to lower her center of gravity. This makes Tingloff very angry at her.

While undergoing treatment for her leg, Tingloff apologizes for being mad at her, and tells her to stay at his house. Tingloff gets enraged because she thinks Tory and Chris's relationship is damaging their performances. He intentionally provokes Chris to get mad, so she can hit him. Tingloff stops Tory and Chris from being on the field at the same time. Chris becomes friends with a professional swimmer named Denny and they start a relationship.

At the tournament, Tory breaks her leg, and Chris tells her to keep going if she wants to make the team. Tory, Chris, and another player, Pooch Anderson, make the team. However, they will not go to Moscow due to the United States boycott. Tory is happy that Chris is dating Denny. The movie ends with all 3 of the teammates on the podium.

Cast[]

Production[]

Hemingway trained extensively before the film began shooting.[3]

The production was halted in July 1980 because of a strike by the Screen Actors Guild.[4]

Many of the scenes were filmed in San Luis Obispo County.[5] While the sign on the track said "Cal Poly", which is a university in San Luis Obispo, it was filmed at the track at Morro Bay High School. There are also two scenes filmed at restaurants in downtown San Luis Obispo; the Cigar Factory and 1865. Filming also took place in Eugene, Oregon.[6] Locations included Hayward Field and the nearby Track Town Pizza restaurant.[4]

Towne clashed with David Geffen during the production. He would later sue Geffen and others for $110 million.[7]

Although Michael Chapman is listed as the director of photography, Reynaldo Villalobos and Caleb Deschanel did uncredited work.[8]

Reception[]

Critical response[]

Personal Best garnered a 73% approval rating at review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 33 reviews.[9] Roger Ebert gave the film four out of a possible four stars and wrote, "This is a very physical movie, one of the healthiest and sweatiest celebrations of physical exertion I can remember... It is filled with the uncertainties, risks, cares, and rewards of real life, and it considers its characters' hearts and minds, and sees their sexuality as an expression of their true feelings for each other".[10] Both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert placed Personal Best on their lists of the ten best films of 1982.[11] Pauline Kael wrote that "There has probably never been a growing-up story presented on the screen so freely and uninhibitedly."[12] Vincent Canby of The New York Times praised the acting of the four leads, but criticized the storyline and the "prettified slow-motion footage."[13]

Box office[]

Personal Best did well in its initial limited engagement, but ultimately flopped at the box office.[14]

Accolades[]

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

References[]

  1. ^ "AFI|Catalog". Catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. ^ Personal Best at Box Office Mojo
  3. ^ Roderick Mann, "Hemingway Weighs In At Her 'Best'", Los Angeles Times, February 4, 1982. Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Sragow, Michael (April 15, 1982). "First-time director Robert Towne comes up a winner". Rolling Stone.
  5. ^ Hartlaub, Peter (January 27, 2008). "DVD review: 'Personal Best'". SFGate.
  6. ^ "Filmed in Oregon 1908–2015" (PDF). Oregon Film Council. Oregon State Library. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  7. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (April 15, 1982). "Writer-Director Sues for $110 Million". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Moore, Kenny (February 1, 1982). "You Oughta Be In Pictures". Sports Illustrated.
  9. ^ Personal Best. Rotten Tomatoes.
  10. ^ Ebert, Roger (January 1, 1982). "Personal Best Movie Review". RogerEbert.com.
  11. ^ Siskel and Ebert Top Ten Lists. Innermind.com. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  12. ^ Kael, Pauline (15 May 1991). 1001 Nights At the Movies. Holt Paperback. p. 576. ISBN 9780805013672.
  13. ^ Canby, Vincent (February 5, 1982). "Film: 'Personal Best,' Olympic Love". The New York Times.
  14. ^ King, Tom (12 June 2001). The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood. Broadway Books. p. 344. ISBN 9780767907576.
  15. ^ "AFI's 10 Top 10 Nominees" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2016-08-19.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

External links[]

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