All the Right Moves
High school athlete Tom Cruise would do anything to escape the dull provincialism of his home town. Cruise's bullying coach Craig T. Nelson cajoles Cruise into seeking an athletic scholarship to a major university. Inevitably, the boy begins to question his goals in life, and soon his soul is the object of a tug of war between Nelson and Cruise's girlfriend Lea Thompson. The first directorial effort for cinematographer Michael Chapman, All the Right Moves was photographed by Jan DeBont, who'd later direct such box-office bonanzas as Speed and Twister.
Director: Michael Chapman
Starring: Tom Cruise, Craig T. Nelson, Lea Thompson, Charles Cioffi, Paul Carafotes
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.
Cruise is believable as an athlete; and the cocky bravado he emits to impress his girlfriend (played with matching complexity and maturity by Lea Thompson) has a fetching sense of lift, too. But his vulnerability is what's most refreshing and ingratiating about Cruise's Stef.
A well-made but sugar-coated working-class fable about a football star.
This naive little movie hopes to prove itself the Flashdance of football.
There is a tender resonance in its cheesy sports drama operating with all the obvious moves.
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