| Vision Quest | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Harold Becker |
| Produced by | Jon Peters Peter Guber |
| Screenplay by | Darryl Ponicsan |
| Based on | Vision Quest by Terry Davis |
| Starring | Matthew Modine Linda Fiorentino Michael Schoeffling Ronny Cox Charles Hallahan Harold Sylvester Daphne Zuniga |
| Music by | Tangerine Dream |
| Cinematography | Owen Roizman |
| Editing by | Maury Winetrobe |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | February 15, 1985 |
| Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $12,993,175 |
Vision Quest is a 1985 coming of age drama film starring Matthew Modine, Linda Fiorentino, and Ronny Cox. It is based on Terry Davis' novel of the same name. In some countries, it was released as Crazy for You to market on Madonna's emerging fame and the popularity of the song. The film was shot in Spokane, Washington, in 1984.
Modine plays a Spokane high school wrestler who falls in love with an older woman, an aspiring artist from New Jersey on her way to San Francisco.
The film includes an appearance by Madonna, her first in a major motion picture, playing a singer at a local bar, where she performs the songs "Crazy for You" and "Gambler". John Irving was quoted as saying Vision Quest is "the truest novel about growing up since The Catcher in the Rye."
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In this coming-of-age story, Louden Swain (Matthew Modine) is a high school wrestler who has just turned eighteen and decided that he needs to do something truly meaningful in his life. Against the wishes of those around him, he embarks on a mission to drop two weight classes in order to challenge the toughest opponent, Brian Shute (Frank Jasper), a menacing 3-time state champion from nearby rival Hoover High School, who has never been defeated in his high school career. In his zeal to drop from 190 pounds to 168 pounds, against the wishes of his coach (Charles Hallahan) and teammates, he disrupts the team around him and creates health problems of his own.
Meanwhile, his father (Ronny Cox) has taken on a boarder named Carla (Linda Fiorentino) from Trenton, New Jersey, passing through on her way to San Francisco. Though she is older, Louden begins to fall in love with her and begins to lose sight of his goals as a wrestler. Worse, his drastic weight loss culminates in an unhealthy situation in which he gets frequent nosebleeds due, Louden claims, to a lack of iron in his diet (which costs him a match that he should have won). He and Carla finally admit their love for one another, but she realizes this is distracting him from his goals. She decides to move out and continue on to San Francisco, but not before seeing Louden's big match in which he defeats Shute in the final seconds with an over-under hip toss.
The film was shot at Spokane's Rogers High School, referred to as "Thompson High School" in the film. The school building has gone through major renovations since the filming, with the only still recognizable characteristic being the school's front entrance.
Interior cafeteria scenes were filmed at Ferris High School on Spokane's South Hill. Some of the locker room scenes were filmed in the Shadle Park High School boys' locker room.
Madonna's scene was filmed at the Big Foot Tavern on North Division (Mews?) in Spokane.
Other scenes were shot at The Onion Restaurant downtown and the North Central High School gym. The gym looks very similar today as it does in the movie.
The film had moderate success in theaters in the U.S. in 1985, earning a gross of $13 million. It has received a rating of 58% at Rotten Tomatoes and has become somewhat of a cult classic among middle and high school wrestlers for its various wrestling scenes, in particular Louden's extreme weight loss measures and workout regimen.
The film was based on the novel of the same name by Terry Davis.
The soundtrack to the motion picture was released by Geffen Records on February 12, 1985; it was re-named Crazy for You in some countries such as Australia and the UK due to the new popularity of pop singer Madonna and her song "Crazy for You".
In 2009, interest in a remake was generated after Taylor Lautner of Twilight fame expressed interest. E! News says that there's already a script, which Lautner reportedly has approved.
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