This is probably the first film I saw of his - and I would say its good. American football, a young teenage Tom, and if you pause it in the right place - even a very quick glimpse of his..... (so I am led to believe)
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.
The director really ought to have had Nelson dial back all that face-mask yanking during the practice scenes. Heavy-handed moments like that lessen the film's impact. It's certainly fair to complain that the film is predictable. But there is also some originality, otherwise Cruise's character would have been written as a superstar QB dating the head cheerleader rather than as a defensive back who is a marginal college prospect, and whose girlfriend plays in the school band. The assorted dead-ends that exist in the poor steel town where the story is set are shown and discussed repeatedly, and accordingly, the sky overhead always appears overcast. What affected me the most are the scenes that demonstrate how football-crazed townspeople will quickly toss aside their athletic heroes once their careers have ended. I have seen that happen myself. And here's a novel concept: jock desires a football scholarship to pay for his education rather than as a springboard to a pro contract. Not as realistic today, I'm afraid.
Tom Cruise is awesome in this classic drama film about a high school football player in a small Pennsylvania town with dreams of going off the college. A great cast also starring Craig T. Nelson, Gary Graham and Chris Penn.
A very young Tom Cruise plays a teenager with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Cliche? Maybe. He wants to do well in football to get a good scholarship and go to a good college. Maybe he should have kept it in his pants? It's a dated movie, meaning that it feels that you are watching an early 80's movie (1983) If you have a sunday afternoon to burn and you are trying to watch all Tom Cruise movies than I say "watch it".
One of Tom Cruise's first movies. I thought this movie was well-made telling about the struggles of blue collar people in a Pennsylvania town. Craig T Nelson is great as the fanatical, short-tempered high school football coach, and Cruise gives a solid performance as a high school football star trying to break free of his small town roots. The scene where Cruise and Nelson talk in the street is one of the better scenes in the movie.
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.
Cruise is a working class student with a talent for American Football, and in this coming of age sports drama he must overcome the envy and jealousy of others...not least his Coach.
Nice coming of age drama Lea Thompson is the love interest looking rather fetching.
1980s teen drama at it's best. Very good effort well worth viewing.
Surprising depth and grit for a Cruise movie. With insights into small town, sports and getting out of the 'mill'. Craig T Nelson is wonderfully bad & Sean Penn puts in a good showing.
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