Personal Best (1982)

The intertwined lives and loves of three highly-ranked athletes striving for the national team; Chris bounces between the beds of male coach Terry and her female friend, competitor, and role model Tory.

Director:

Robert Towne

Writer:

Robert Towne

Stars:

Mariel Hemingway, Scott Glenn, Patrice Donnelly

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mariel Hemingway	...	Chris Cahill
Scott Glenn	...	Terry Tingloff
Patrice Donnelly	...	Tory Skinner
Kenny Moore	...	Denny Stites
Jim Moody	...	Roscoe Travis
Kari G. Peyton	...	Penny Brill (as Kari Gosswiller)
Jodi Anderson	...	Nadia 'Pooch' Anderson
Maren Seidler	...	Tanya
Martha Watson	...	Sheila
Emily Dole	...	Maureen
Pam Spencer	...	Jan
Deby Laplante	...	Trish
Mitzi McMillin	...	Laura
Jan Glotzer	...	Karen
Jan Van Reenen	...	Yelovitch

Storyline

The intertwined lives and loves of three highly-ranked athletes striving for the national team; Chris bounces between the beds of male coach Terry and her female friend, competitor, and role model Tory.

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Plot Keywords:

lesbianism | running | lesbian athlete | drugs | injury | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 May 1983 (Australia)

Also Known As:

As Parceiras

Filming Locations:

1305 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Geffen Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film co-starred a real life Olympic athlete. Maren Seidler competed at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Donnelly was once ranked fourth in the world for hurdles and third in the world for the pentathlon. This film was her movie debut.

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Goofs

At 1:06:26, a blue shoe to the left of Chris' marker is no where near the marker, but at 1:06:42, it is next to the marker.

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Quotes

Terry Tingloff: All right, one thing ya gotta understand: I could've been a man's coach. Backfield coach, Oregon State: I had the job, I had the job, I actually had the job. You understand? I had the job. Ah, well. Coach of the year. I was coach of the year last year. You know what that means when you're a womens' coach? Jack shit. I mean I could have coached football. Do you actually think that Chuck Knoll has to worry that Franco Harris is gonna cry 'cause Terry Bradshaw won't talk to him? - Hmm? - Jack ...

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Connections

Referenced in It's in the Water (1997)

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Soundtracks

"YOU DON'T KNOW ME"
Written by C. Walker and E. Arnold
Sung by Kenny Loggins
Courtesy of CBS Records

User Reviews

not perfect, but important

As flawed as it might seem, and as much as Mariel Hemingway's body may have been exploited in the interest of box office sales... This was a very important movie for me and many girls my age. It was the first movie we ever saw that let us know that we weren't the only girls in the world who liked other girls. And it showed us that this could be beautiful and that we weren't freaks. For that it will always hold a special place in my heart. And the same goes for many other lesbians around my age.