Synopsis
After deciding he needs to do something meaningful with his life, high school wrestler Louden Swain sets out on a mission to drop weight and challenge the area's undefeated champion, which creates problems with his teammates and health. Matters are complicated further when Louden's father takes in an attractive female drifter who's on her way to San Francisco.
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Cast
- Matthew ModineLouden Swain
- Linda FiorentinoCarla
- Ronny CoxLarry Swain
- Daphne ZunigaMargie Epstein
- Charles HallahanThe Coach
- Michael SchoefflingKuch
- Harold SylvesterGene Tanneran
- J.C. QuinnElmo
- MadonnaSinger
- Forest WhitakerBalldozer
Recommendations
- 88
Chicago Sun-Times
A movie with some nice surprises, mostly because it takes the time to create some interesting characters. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
Earnest, warm, and often very funny, VISION QUEST features a finely etched performance by Matthew Modine. - 75
Chicago Tribune
Vision Quest survives by means of a few powerhouse weapons. One of them is Darryl Ponicsan's screenplay, adapted from the novel by Terry Davis, that tells the story with restraint, tenderness and a solid respect for theme. Another is director Harold Becker, who succeeds, most of the time, in touching the sensitive nerves of this tale without fraying them. Best of all are a couple of winning performances: Matthew Modine as a high school wrestler intent on beating an unbeatable state champ and Linda Fiorentino as the hard-as-nails drifter who wanders into his life. [15 Feb 1985, p.J] - 60
Washington Post
It's the usual dumb stuff -- he strives, he fails, he falls in love, he strives some more, he wins. You need strong hands and a heavy set of nutcrackers to break this tedious shell, but inside there are some surprisingly sharp insights into male teen-age psychology and a marvelous performance by Matthew Modine. - 60
Time Out
The imposing Fiorentino helps adjust the gender balance, Modine gives his customary un-showy performance and Ponicsan tries to find a few fresh-seeming angles in his coming-of-age scenario. Still, it does cover awfully familiar ground. - 50
The New York Times
Movies are not like people who, if they're basically nice and decent, can be liked even if they're not very stimulating company. Movies of that order wear one down. They demand attention without giving much in return - amiability is not enough. This is Vision Quest. - 50
Los Angeles Times
Credibility and even simple logic seem to have gotten short shrift in its transposition to the screen from a highly praised first novel by Terry Davis. The result is a film of some lovely and funny moments, with some appealing people, that finally disappoints. - 50
Chicago Reader
Unfortunately, Harold Becker's direction seems deliberately designed to pull the material toward the bland and conventional—toward easy payoffs and Rocky-style inspirational melodrama.
