‘Scholarship here, no scholarship here. Who the hell gave you that power?‘
1983 was a big year for Tom Cruise with leading roles in both Risky Business and All the Right Moves – both of which would go on to become iconic in their own way. The former gave Cruise a chance to demonstrate his comedic chops but the latter handed the diminutive cinematic legend the opportunity to tackle a meatier role. And, of course, he excels…
Stef (Cruise) is a budding football star in a dying mill town who is desperate to escape to college. Balancing his steamy relationship with band girl Lisa (Lea Thompson) with his football career and dealing with an unpredictable coach (Craig T. Nelson) proves challenging, especially as everyone in the town seems to hate him.
This is a teen melodrama dressed up as a sports movie. There is a long and well-staged football sequence but it comes in the middle of the film rather than the denouement. The rest of the movie tackles issues such as teenage pregnancy, economic depression and grief. What I really enjoyed about All the Right Moves is that it’s unpredictable. There are a number of opportunities for director Michael Chapman (better known as Scorsese’s cinematographer) to follow the tropes and conventions of a sports movie but he continuously subverts them. It helps that Cruise shares an electric chemistry with Lea Thompson and it is obvious that stardom was just around the corner for little Tommy Cruise. Elsewhere, Nelson is reliable as ever as the cantankerous coach Nickerson in one of his breakout roles and it’s a pleasure to see Chris Penn pop up anywhere – he is always a likeable and compelling presence in any movie.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed All the Right Moves. Not just another sports movie.