All the Right Moves (1983)

A high school footballer desperate for a scholarship and his headstrong coach clash in a dying Pennsylvania steel town.

Director:

Michael Chapman

Writers:

Pat Jordan (article), Michael Kane

Stars:

Tom Cruise, Craig T. Nelson, Lea Thompson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Cruise	...	Stefen Djordjevic
Craig T. Nelson	...	Nickerson
Lea Thompson	...	Lisa
Charles Cioffi	...	Pop
Gary Graham	...	Greg
Paul Carafotes	...	Salvucci
Chris Penn	...	Brian (as Christopher Penn)
Sandy Faison	...	Suzie
James A. Baffico	...	Bosko
Mel Winkler	...	Jess Covington
Walter Briggs	...	Rifleman
George Betor	...	Tank
Leon	...	Shadow (as Leon Robinson)
Jonas Chaka	...	Mouse (as Jonas C. Miller)
Keith Diamond	...	Fox (as Keith Ford)

Storyline

Sensitive study of a headstrong high school football star who dreams of getting out of his small Western Pennsylvania steel town with a football scholarship. His equally ambitious coach aims at a college position, resulting in a clash which could crush the player's dreams.

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Plot Keywords:

scholarship | high school | coach | football | college | 

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Taglines:

He plays to win

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

All Right

Filming Locations:

Conemaugh, Pennsylvania, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lucille Ball Productions, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rifleman, the quarterback, and Shadow, the receiver, are always called by their nicknames (including in the credits), except once. During the pep rally scene when Riley is telling Stef that Tracy is pregnant, you can hear coach Nickerson off camera in the background if you listen close when he is introducing the players. Rifleman's name is Clarence Oliver and Shadow's name is Austin Williams.

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Goofs

Stefan takes his plaid shirt off twice in the locker room before practice.

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Quotes

Nickerson: Djordjevic! I'd like to talk to you.
Steff: We got nothing to talk about.
Nickerson: Then where are you going?
Steff: Where am I going?
Nickerson: Yeah.
Steff: No place, man. I mean, uh, Shadow, he's going to West Virginia. He just found out tonight. And, Tank's going to Furman. You knew that already. And you're going to Cal Poly. And Mouse, Mouse is going to college, he's gonna play ball. Me, I'm just gonna hang out here, I don't know, ya know? Hey, Nickerson, you lied about me. You blackballed me. "Together." Remember that? "Together....
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Family Matters: All the Wrong Moves (1993)

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Soundtracks

"The Last Stand"
(Bus Ride)
Performed by Douglas Kahan (as Doug Kahan)
Music and Lyrics by Douglas Kahan 'as Doug Kahan)
Produced by Brooks Arthur

User Reviews

Very few of the right moves

Nothing here you haven't already seen many times before. All the Right Moves is one big cliché from beginning to end. The small mill town where nobody ever amounts to anything. The high school football team that the townspeople take much too seriously. The kid who sees football as his only way out. The girlfriend who is not appreciated because, well, she doesn't play football and nobody in this town cares about anything besides football. The big game that the team just has to win. The setbacks before that big game that will make it much harder for them to do so. The conflict between players and their coach. Secondary characters (but not our hero heaven forbid) making terrible decisions which will destroy their future. The problem our hero faces and the inevitable way that problem will be dealt with. If you can't see very early on how all this is going to turn out, well you obviously haven't seen too many movies. This is about as predictable as movies get.

About the only thing which makes this film even remotely noteworthy are the actors playing the key roles. Tom Cruise is the young football star, Craig T. Nelson his coach and Lea Thompson his girlfriend. Cruise, Nelson and Thompson were obviously destined for bigger and better things. Here, their performances are all fine, with the more seasoned Nelson unsurprisingly being the most convincing. Cruise and Thompson have a rather awkward romance (capped by a rather awkward love scene) but as they're playing young, naive high school kids the awkwardness actually seems to fit. Unfortunately though in the grand scheme of things the actors really don't have much to work with. The characters are unoriginal and clichéd. The story is one we've seen in various incarnations many times before. There's really nothing of note to keep your attention. And the whole thing comes with a sense of inevitability to it that lessens the sense of drama one might otherwise feel. This one will not live long in the memory.