Whenever I view a film, afterwards I ask myself the question, "could I have made a better movie at the time?" The answer for me, for "Vision Quest", is no! Vision Quest has a fantastic script, a bunch of talented actors, and smart direction. I'm not sure why it is ranked so mediocre on here, but that's a serious mistake. This is a GREAT film, that is especially poignant for older adolescent viewers. I highly recommend you watch "Vision Quest"!

This is a classic 80's movie that's actually quite enjoyable. The acting is a little uneven, but not enough to ruin the film. The monotone performance of Linda Fiorentino contrasts with Matthew Modine's child-like wonderment persona, yet they still somehow have chemistry. The character, Louden Swain, is a die-hard optimist who has big dreams for the future. Matthew Modine does an inspiring job in becoming this character. Bottom-line, this movie is all Modine. He carried this film and it would never have worked without him. Whenever I call in at work, this is my "go to" movie that I pop in to pass the time. It's a fun movie that you can watch over and over again. Yes, parts of it are quite cheesy but that's what makes it even more amusing. Great 80's soundtrack too! Enjoy!-RM

I saw this movie about one or two years ago and just recently rented it last week and I love it. I saw someone typed that people depreciate it because of not living through the 80s while I was born in the 90s and I love the 80s, and especially this brilliant 80s movie that as my summary is that 1985 was a good year during the 80s. Louden Swain is a young adult that just turned 18 and states in the beginning: "I'm Louden. Louden Swain. I turned 18 last week, I wasn't ready to. There's so much I haven't done yet. So I made a deal with myself, this is the year I make my mark." So when Louden's coach whoever would like to challenge the number one man in his weight class, Louden's hand goes up and the coach says he is already number one at 190 he says he knows and then Kusch complains that he should stay in his own division and that he's not giving up his spot. After that the coach pulls him aside and then Louden says he's going to drop to 168 and wrestle Shout. After the coach tells Louden he's insane, he tells Louden he'll let him wrestle 178 against Kusch but if not he'll go back to his own division. He wins and starts his training to make it down to 168. After coming back from his hotel job he see's Carla telling a car salesman that he sold her a lemon. Louden's dad works as a mechanic and punches him in the face. Then Louden's dad tells Louden to take Carla down to get a hamburger. Louden asks Carla why she's down in Spokane since she's from New Jersey and won't tell Louden what she's doing. Louden asks how old she is and tells him 21 so there's a three year difference. Louden's dad loses his job and then Louden and his dad let her live with them. After Carla has been living under Louden and his father's roof he falls in love with her. Which is inflicted with his plan to wrestle Shout. Later on when Louden see's Carla with Mr. Tammeran, Louden's English teacher, he thinks that they're having sexual relations and refuses to talk to Carla, and attempts to have sex with her and Carla pushes him off and tells him that part of being a man is knowing what a woman wants and respecting that, and that part of being a kid is that he could say something stupid and still get his face ripped off for saying it. Louden continues to get nosebleeds from not having enough iron, and Carla says he should eat more spinach. He says he's sorry but she walks out of the room. She shows that she forgives Louden by coming to one of his wrestling matches, and later when their in the coffee shop he tells her that he doesn't care if she's doing "it" with Mr. Tammeran, and Carla then kisses him. Later on in the movie they travel up to see Louden's grandpa and later Carla tells Louden that he has a lifetime left and what about his vision quest to defeat Shout and the girls to make love too and when he asks her to name one she pulls him towards herself and then it happens. A day before the match though, Carla leaves, and when Louden doesn't show, Coach asks where he and Kusch says he'll be there. Right before the forfeit Louden arrives and makes the weight. Then before he has to wrestle Carla comes in and Louden is upset that Carla left and didn't say goodbye and then Carla tells him that if she didn't leave he wouldn't be wrestling Shout, and then right after she says goodbye she tells Louden to beat Shout. Carla stays for Louden's match.Louden does get a nose bleed during the match but still wins. This movie is a must see rather you want to see a really good sports movie,or a really good 80s movie.

Don't let the title, or the fact that this movie is about wrestling, deter you as it almost did me. Vision Quest is not a campy sci-fi flick, nor is it about a sweaty muscle head frolicking around in a leotard to Cyndi Lauper; it's an entertaining tale with hints of the irreplaceable 1980's luster that most of the great films from that era provide.Louden Swain is sort of a goofy character, but he's authentic and ironclad. Louden drives through the experiences of youth with all the wonder and ferocity anyone could hope for. A combination of solid writing and acting render him a palpable character who's easy to empathize with. The northwestern city atmosphere helps.Linda Fiorentino puts out a relatively deep character, and her looks don't hurt anything. There are some good performances elsewhere; happily, there really aren't many two dimensional characters to speak of.Initially, the movie feels a little kitsch, but if you stick with it, you'll find it's more about coming of age and romance than sports. Not really a mind-blowing script or anything too memorable, but not at all a bad way to blow ninety minutes.