All the Right Moves (1983)

53% of critics liked it
(19 reviews)
38% of users liked it
(11,824 ratings)

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… More 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. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 31 min.
Directed By: Michael Chapman
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Oct 21, 1983 Wide
On DVD: Mar 5, 2002
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
his naive little movie hopes to prove itself the Flashdance of football.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The movie gets into the dynamics of the high-school student body and into the tender, complicated relationship between the Cruise character and his girlfriend (Lea Thompson).
Janet Maslin, New York Times
For all its air of realism and grit, the film has a fairy-tale quality.
Ian Nathan, Empire Magazine
Cliched and clunky. Not really a great showcase for Cruise or Chris Penn.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
This cliche-riddled picture was the directorial debut of veteran cinematographer Michael Chapman, who took no risks in his first time out.
Douglas Pratt, DVDLaser
he 1983 film presents a fairly realistic portrait of high school life and is best at evoking the rhythm of emotions that come with overcast autumn days, factory layoffs, high school football and young romance. If you start examining the details of the plo
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Marred by a fake happy ending that negates the predominantly gloom mood, this small-town fable is cliche-ridden, though it's nicely shot and well-acted by Tom Cruise as the restless, stifled hero just before he became a star.
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews
Cruise has always been an underrated actor, but this is early "non wacko" Cruise
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Passable teen/sports movie.
Wade Major, Boxoffice Magazine
The picture is bleak at times and has an edge to it that similar films don't -- that's possibly a good thing but potentially a bad thing for those who like their coming-of-age films warmer and fuzzier. This one definitely isn't that.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
An ending so unlikely in that forlorn uplift way that an insulin shot should be offered as part of the DVD's packaging.

Read all 11 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Phil H

Bit of a classic Cruise machine this, backed up by a sterling cast including Craig T. Nelson, Lea Thompson and Chris Penn. Its a solid gruff story about a blue collar town that is kept alive by the local steel mill and how all the local kids wanna escape the town and reach for the… More
Bit of a classic Cruise machine this, backed up by a sterling cast including Craig T. Nelson, Lea Thompson and Chris Penn. Its a solid gruff story about a blue collar town that is kept alive by the local steel mill and how all the local kids wanna escape the town and reach for the stars, grimy and emotional? check! I've always found the US school system quite amusing actually and this film really bugs me to tell the truth haha. I'm not sure if its really like this or if it was but football seems to be SO important in US schools, it runs peoples lives and they take it so so seriously that it can make or break their future. This is the plot within this film, football is Cruises live and because he insults the team coach he gets chucked off the team and practically loses his life plans in the process. What is also so odd about it (if its like this I don't know) is the fact the school coach seems to decide wether you can go to a better school or not no matter what grades you have, even though you are going for a football scholarship surely your grades count? bizarre!. So whilst watching I can only feel total confusion and frustration at the US school system hehe I just wanna say to Cruises character, forget football and just do what you wanna do, you have the grades. Besides this its a good film and well acted, Cruise goes over the top as per usual but he clearly shows talent when compared to other guys of his own age. Thompson is beautiful and such a dream as always whilst Nelson is quite unnerving as the hardass coach, he fits those kind of roles so well.
Cassie H

Great sports movie/love story!!! Tom Cruise is also so cute in this movie and Lea Thompson is adorable. Also it has a good story too about never giving up. I love it! :) I could watch it over and over. :) :) :)
AJ V

A fantastic teenage drama, I loved seeing Cruise and Thompson together in this movie, I love this movie.
erika b

this film was totally unrated . It was so touching and really good acting.
Conner R

The Varsity Blues of its time and an extremely effective story about goals and dreams. It's a lot more serious and dynamic than one might expect. Much of that goes to Tom Cruise's great performance as a very tangible high school football player who just wants to escape his… More
The Varsity Blues of its time and an extremely effective story about goals and dreams. It's a lot more serious and dynamic than one might expect. Much of that goes to Tom Cruise's great performance as a very tangible high school football player who just wants to escape his family profession of working at the coal mine. This is about the pain and hardship that goes into getting what you want and doing everything you can to survive. Some might call it sappy, but I call it amazing.
Dean M

Emotional drama of a high school athlete's life for anything to escape his boring home town. Tom Cruise makes an excellent performance in his character role and Lea Thompson does a wonderful supporting role as a high school athlete's girlfriend.
xGary X

Once more Tom Cruise struggles with teen dilemmas and I find it almost impossible to give a shit.
Mike T

Tom Cruise flaunts his natural energy and charisma in this sappy melodrama. The concept is interesting, but the supporting cast is extremely weak. Lea Thompson is particularly abysmal as Cruise's annoying girlfriend. Really badly written dialogue, too.
RJ M

Tom Cruise plays a high school football player who is desperate for a college scholarship to escape his small Pennsylvania home town. It's a typical coming of age story brought to life by a full roster of very believeable characters. Cruise shows, even in this very early… More
Tom Cruise plays a high school football player who is desperate for a college scholarship to escape his small Pennsylvania home town. It's a typical coming of age story brought to life by a full roster of very believeable characters. Cruise shows, even in this very early performance, that he's one of the most solid, and dependable actors around. He's surrounded by a host of familiar character actors like Lea Thompson as his girlfriend, Craig T. Nelson as the coach, and the late Chris Penn as his best friend. The cinematography really drives home the small town feel. Filmed in a Pennsylvania steel town, almost every shot in the movie is overcast, and it almost always appears to be raining. Symbolic perhaps of the many struggles of the young characters. An ironic bit of history for the movie...although it was released in 1983, the same year as Risky Business, it was actually filmed BEFORE that film was made. It went unreleased by the studio, until Business made Cruise a superstar overnight. Then 20th Century Fox decided to try and make a profit of Cruise's sudden fame, and put the movie into theaters.