All the Right Moves (1983)

Although the legendary products of Western Pennsylvania high-school football have given their dying milltowns a somewhat romantic air in countless sports documentaries, reality is a much different thing. In this absorbing drama, Tom Cruise stars as a young cornerback prospect who dreams of being an engineer. Despite his love for pretty Lea Thompson and the respect with which he treats his millworker father, Cruise is desperate to get out of his decaying hometown, and knows that a football scholarship is his only ticket. Complications arise when he runs afoul of the team's coach (Craig T. Nelson in a well-played turn) and must face his own pride. The supporting cast is quite good, and Jan DeBont's gritty, evocative photography perfectly captures the film's tone. An unexpectedly moving drama which got lost among the sugar-coated teen trifles of its time, All the Right Moves is a thoughtful and involving story of holding on to a dream in the bleakest of surroundings. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide