Thoughts on Vision Quest

via Giphy

"Mysterious as the dark side of the mooon!"

"I think you're dehydrated."

"No, I'm just the victim of a screwed-up nitrogen imbalance. Plus, I think I've contracted priapism."

"What's priapism?"

"It's a disease of a constant erection. ... It's not funny, believe me! The girl of my dreams lives under my own roof, but she thinks I'm just a kid, a dumb jock, all of which is more or less true. I'm dying, Mr. Tanneran, just like that girl in the poem ... only quicker, and with a hard-on."

Vision Quest is a pretty charming little movie. It tells the kind of story where the hero is bold enough to stretch himself physically and emotionally and if nothing else, that's worth celebrating.

Louden Swain (Matthew Modine), 18 and nearing the end of his high school wrestling career in Spokane, Washington, decides to drop 22 pounds so he can face best of the best Brian Shute (Frank Jasper). According to his Random Roles interview, Modine had never wrestled before making Vision Quest and getting into shape for the movie was especially hard. I'll let the experts weigh in on Modine's credibility in the practice and competition scenes, but I'm comfortable in saying Jasper cuts an impressive figure. Shute seems to function like a Pacific Northwest version of Ivan Drago.

Carla (Linda Fiorentino), a young woman who's been 21 since she was 14, arrives in Louden's world by chance. A native New Jerseyite planning to live as an artist in San Francisco, Carla ends up staying with Louden and his dad (Ronny Cox) once her car breaks down. Louden's youth and sexual curiosity leads to behavior like sniffing and getting caught with Carla's dryer-fresh panties. He's also jealous when it looks like she's involved with English teacher Tanneran (Harold Sylvester). Despite Carla initially brother zoning Louden, they become a couple long enough for him to lose his virginity.

"You never took a night off to see me wrestle before. They'll dock you for that."

"Hey, kid - money ain't everything."

"It's not that big a deal, Elmo. I mean, it's six lousy minutes on the mat, if that."

"You ever hear of Pele?"

"Yeah, he's a, a soccer player."

"A very famous soccer player. ... I was in the room here one day ... watchin' the Mexican channel on TV. I don't know nothin' about Pele. I'm watchin' what this guy can do with a ball and his feet. Next thing I know, he jumps in the air and flips into a somersault and kicks the ball in - upside down and backwards ... the goddamn goalie never knew what the fuck hit him. Pele gets excited and he rips off his jersey and starts running around the stadium waving it around his head. Everybody's screaming in Spanish. I'm here, sitting alone in my room, and I start crying. ... That's right, I start crying. Because another human being, a species that I happen to belong to, could kick a ball, and lift himself, and the rest of us sad-assed human beings, up to a better place to be, if only for a minute ... let me tell ya, kid - it was pretty goddamned glorious. It ain't the six minutes ... it's what happens in that six minutes."

Directed by Harold Becker and adapted by Terry Davis' novel by Darryl Ponicsan, Vision Quest has appealing leads and a hell of an ensemble. Louden has no shortage of father figures, including Elmo the cook (J.C. Quinn), his own father, Tanneran and his coach (Charles Hallahan). It should feel like overkill (and dad isn't as well-developed as the other men), but each relationship comes across as unique and important.

We've seen the likes of Margie (Daphne Zuniga) and Kuch (Michael Schoeffling) before. She's the girl who likes the lead but isn't going to get him. He's the slightly crazy but lovable best friend. Maybe it's the absurdity of Margie's excitement over Louden's article on the clitoris ("I showed it to my mother!"). Maybe it's the pathos of Kuch living with a false identity (he copes with a troubled home life by pretending to be a Native American). Either way, there's much more than meets the eye. 

I'll close this review by paraphrasing Carl Reiner's forward to Enter Laughing. All the characters in Vision Quest are not real. Only their fears, anxieties, hopes and other emotions are.

"Hey, Carla? I'd do it all again."

"So would I. ... Hey, Louden? Kick his ass."

Recommended.

Thoughts:

-- Box Office: Grossing nearly $13 million on an unknown budget, this opened at No. 5 and came in at No. 65 for 1985.

-- Musical Moments: At this point in 1985, the score is 4-3, with original songs beating oldies. The Breakfast Club had two scorers and so does Vision Quest. There's "Crazy For You," which topped the Billboard charts that May. In hindsight, "Crazy For You" (which became the movie's alternate title in the United Kingdom and Australia) was released at a perfect time: right on the heels of "Material Girl" and before the release of Desperately Seeking Susan. That said, I prefer relative oldie "Change" by John Waite. It really fit the moment of Louden's successful climb. "Change," alas, didn't do so well, peaking at No. 54 that April. 

-- Critic's Corner: Modine received good reviews. He's one of the best movie actors of his generation, Vincent Canby wrote. Roger Ebert singled out his ability to make an interesting character out of Louden, "in spite of the script." "The film is yet another coming-of-age story, poorly told," according to Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times. Ebert appreciated that it wasn't quite like other competition movies. "Just once, why couldn't they give us characters as interesting ... in a movie where they'd be set free from the same tired old plot and allowed to live?" he asked.

-- This is the second consecutive movie where someone's personal space below the belt was invaded. First Bender gets his head under Claire's skirt, then Louden gets groped by the salesman and tai chi enthusiast he delivered room service to.

-- Fanservice Junction: Bless them for having a plausible reason for gratuitous nudity! It's only after Louden takes off his underwear that he's reached Shute's weight class. Prior to Modine's ass shot, we have his fellow wrestlers in their briefs and boxers. For the other half of the audience, there's Fiorentino's bra-less first scene and Carla later entering the kitchen with no pants on.

-- Hey, It's ...!: Forest Whitaker, Roberts Blossom and James Gammon.

-- Next: The Mean Season. On deck: Into the Night