Personal Best

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This article is about the film. For the Team Dresch album, see Personal Best (album).

Personal Best

Directed by	Robert Towne
Produced by	Robert Towne
Written by	Robert Towne
Starring	Mariel Hemingway Scott Glenn Patrice Donnelly Jim Moody
Music by	Jill Fraser Jack Nitzsche
Cinematography	Michael Chapman
Editing by	Jacqueline Cambas Jere Huggins Ned Humphreys Walt Mulconery Bud S. Smith
Distributed by	The Geffen Film Company
Release date(s)	1982
Running time	124 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

Personal Best is a 1982 movie centered on a group of women who are trying to qualify for the Olympic Games track-and-field team.

The movie was directed by Robert Towne and starred Scott Glenn as the coach of the track team, along with actress Mariel Hemingway and real-life track star Patrice Donnelly.

The movie was praised by critics for providing a realistic look at the world of women's athletics, for exploring the complex relationships that can exist among teammates and their coach, and for its sensitive portrayal of the relationship between an older lesbian (Donnelly) and a younger bisexual woman (Hemingway).

[edit] References in popular culture

The lesbian relationship in the movie is referenced by Ross Geller in an episode of the fourth season of Friends; paranoid that his current girlfriend will be drawn to a lesbian co-worker, he cites the heavy sexual tension that can exist during shared exercise, adding "Didn't you see "Personal Best"?" An intrigued Joey Tribbiani responds, "No, but I'm gonna!"
The lesbian relationship is also referenced in episode 10 of the first series of American Dad.
The lesbian relationship is also referenced in the "puppy episode" of the Ellen 1998 sitcom.