Endowed with remarkable performances, superb photography, and a clear vision of what matters to its characters, Personal Best is an underappreciated gem in a genre full of filler.
Personal Best (1982)
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Reviews Counted:22
Fresh:16
Rotten:6
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: Mariel Hemingway has a career-making star turn in this highly physical drama about two Olympic athletes who find each other during competitive training.
Runtime: 2 hrs 9 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Two highly competitive female athletes discover erotic feelings for each other as they train for the Olympics.
Starring: Mariel Hemingway, Scott Glenn, Patrice Donnelly, Kenny Moore
Starring: Mariel Hemingway, Scott Glenn, Patrice Donnelly, Kenny Moore
Director: Robert Towne
Director: Robert Towne
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Reviews for Personal Best
Towne has a love of slow motion that's employed as if he's afraid you might miss one, rippling muscle. Worse than that, when people aren't exercising, they are often talking about exercising.
There's no questioning its authenticity.... However, the movie tends to make its points early and then repeat itself unnecessarily.
The sort of nerve required to produce an excellent screenplay like Chinatown seems to have deserted Towne in this, his directorial debut.
This is a very physical movie, one of the healthiest and sweatiest celebrations of physical exertion I can remember.
Unless you're fascinated by all of the prettified slow-motion footage of Chris, Tory and the other women athletes, your eye is likely to wander to your watch long before the end.
An unusual subject to get the Hollywood treatment though, and as such it should be commended, while Hemmingway is always worth catching.
One of the best movies ever about competition, with wonderfully natural performances.
A frank, honest portrayal of the sacrifices of Olympic-caliber athletes. it is tough and uncompromising.
A robust and adventuresome film that is both tough and sentimental in its portrait of Olympic grade women athletes.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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