Against All Odds (1984)

A gangster hires an ex-football player to find his girlfriend. When he finds her, they fall in love, and the twists start to appear.

Director:

Taylor Hackford

Writers:

Eric Hughes, Daniel Mainwaring

Stars:

Rachel Ward, Jeff Bridges, James Woods

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rachel Ward	...	Jessie Wyler
Jeff Bridges	...	Terry Brogan
James Woods	...	Jake Wise
Alex Karras	...	Hank Sully
Jane Greer	...	Mrs. Wyler
Richard Widmark	...	Ben Caxton
Dorian Harewood	...	Tommy
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Edie
Saul Rubinek	...	Steve Kirsch
Pat Corley	...	Ed Phillips
Bill McKinney	...	Head Coach
Allen Williams	...	Bob Soames
Sam Scarber	...	Assistant Coach
Jon St. Elwood	...	Ahmad Cooper
Tamara Stafford	...	Kirsch's Girlfriend

Storyline

Terry Brogan, an aging football player in L.A., is cut early in the season; he needs money, so he takes a job from a shady friend of his, Jake Wise, to track down Wise's girlfriend, Jessie, who's somewhere in Mexico. She's also the daughter of a very wealthy land developer, who owns Terry's team. He heads for Cozumel, finds Jessie, and promptly falls in love with her. He thinks it's mutual, then without warning, she heads back to L.A. and Jake. What's going on with her, and what's the connection between Jake's hold on Jessie and the various politicians, lawyers, and environmentalists who seem to be converging on some sort of land deal? Terry keeps looking for answers.

---

Plot Keywords:

nightclub | mexico | gangster | sex scene | los angeles california | 

---

Taglines:

From the director of "An Officer and A Gentleman" comes a different kind of film.

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 March 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Out of the Past

Filming Locations:

Riviera Country Club - 1250 Capri Drive, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$25,100,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Columbia-Delphi Productions, New Visions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On the DVD commentary, actors Jeff Bridges and James Woods comment on how many audience members were returning to see the film several times for the brief but highly effective car chase sequence at the start.

---

Goofs

In the scene where Terry and Jess are arguing on the "ball field" in Chichen Itza, as the camera switches back and forth between the two, in the background behind Jess a group of kids playing ball can be seen at the other end of the arena; when the camera cuts back to her, they're gone, and the next time the camera returns to her, they are visible again, albeit in the very edge of the frame.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Terry Brogan: Señor! Have you, uh, seen this woman?
Taxi driver: Oh - no, sir.
Terry Brogan: Gracias.

---

Alternate Versions

CBS edited 9 minutes from this film for its 1986 network television premiere.

---

Connections

Referenced in One Hit Wonderland: St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) by John Parr (2015)

---

Soundtracks

BALCONY
Written by Stuart Adamson (as Stewart Adamson)
Performed by Big Country
Produced by Chris Thomas
Courtesy of Phonogram Records Ltd. (London) & Polygram Records

User Reviews

An effective neo-noir that gets a little convuluted towards the end

Just recently discovering this on dvd, I'm actually suprised I haven't heard much about it before. A modern film noir that's a very loose remake of "Out of the Past" with Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas. The film instead focuses on gorgeous, sunny locations like Mexico and the finer locations of L.A. instead of the dark and grungy look that most film noir's follow. Jeff Bridges stars as a pro L.A. football player that gets cut because of a mild injury. Upset because he has some good years left in him, he attempts to sue the team to no avail. Broke and looking for a job, a shady past friend played by James Woods shows up with a job offer: find his girlfriend who split on him and headed to Mexico. This girlfriend also happens to be the daughter of the woman who owns the L.A. pro football team, a ruthless business woman who is primarily interested in real estate and inherited the team from her late husband. When he decides he needs a vacation and the money, he takes Woods up on his offer. After a couple days of useless searching, he finally finds her...and immediately falls in love. The femme fatale is played by Rachel Ward, a hot commodity back then, coming off of The Thornbirds. A spoiled rich princess-type, she eventually succumbs to him and the following scenes are some of the most beautiful sequences put on film. The only commercial movie that has filmed scenes in the gorgeous ancient ruins of Chichen Itza and Tulum, these sequences make the film. The sex scene is one of the best I've seen, really putting a passion on the screen without becoming too...late night cinemax. Unfortunately, from here, the film plummets into a convuluted mess trying to deal with issues that seem out of place with the film: The L.A. business elite, gambling, real estate, etc. I think the film is definitely worth a watch for the first two-thirds alone. Also, dvd fans are encouraged to listen to the cast commentary. One of the better commentaries I've heard, there is a lot of great anecdotes from a rare track by Jeff Bridges and James Woods. The two leads really seem to come off as real friends joking and ribbing each other, unlike some of the stuffy professional actor commentaries that are usually the case.