Admirable film.

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This film is quite dated, but that's okay. No mention of steroids, in a pre-Ben Johnson track and field world. Well, I guess that's not quite true, as one coach did mention things that could inadvertently show up on a test. But that was it. And I remember how things were in the late Seventies, with casual dope-smoking everywhere, and no one really cared much one way or another. The big deal at the time, was the relationship between the two main characters. That would be celebrated today, and the weed-smoking utterly condemned. Patrice Donnelly did very well to not be a professional actress at the time. Mariel Hemingway did very well also, showing her character as naive and almost child-like. There were a few nude scenes, that may have been titillating, but did not seem at all gratuitous. (I recall that Miss Hemingway got a huge boob job for her very next role in Star 80) Overall, I still liked this film.

Although it has been many years since I saw this film it stands out as being an excellent film, both in the content-human relationships & competition, as well as the cinematography.Mariel Hemingway is simply stunning. Indeed the Women's High Jump is among the best events to watch at any Track & Field meet-as the girls are generally young, long & lean.If you follow T & F some of the high jumpers are able to compete at the highest level for over a decade. (I think that 5 of the top 8 of the 1988 Seoul Olympics had also made the final of the 1976 Olympics).There were two good films that I know of that had aim as 80 Olympics-Golden Girl with Susan Anton & this film. So how long did the USSR stay in Afganistan after the 1980 Olympic boycott? 13 years. So if a politician says a sporting team should boycott another country because of civil rights etc-then remind them of this Olympics, which in turn stuffed up the next Olympics as well as a couple of Commonwealth Games especially for African countries.Irony Idi Amin pulled Uganda out of the 1976 Olympics because New Zealand played rugby in South Africa.Even in 2004 the Aust govt was sort of trying to stop the Aust Cricket team from touring Zimbabwe.Enough of politics as I was not really aware of politics when I saw Personal Best in the early 1980's. I was aware of my attraction to girls and in Mariel there is one of the most beautiful as well as the capacity to admire athletic bodies , male & female, both on the track and in the locker room.

Mariel Hemingway stars in what is perhaps the most defining film of her career, a vehicle that displays her acting talents at what is probably her own 'personal best'.In "PERSONAL BEST", Mariel is Chris Cahill, a young and attractive bi-sexual athlete competing at the Olympic Team Trials for the 1980 Olympic Games to be held in Los Angeles. Her character is defined as somewhat naive, but she is guided through her sexuality phase with the help of Tory Skinner (wonderfully played by Patrice Donnelly). Whether the two characters are lesbian or not is beside the point, what "PERSONAL BEST" tries to deal with is the hardship of having a relationship at a trying time in your life. In this case, both Chris and Tory are competing for a place in the Olympic Team and they both help each other emotionally and physically to achieve their goals.The two girls both deal with sexual confusion which distracts them on and off the field. Their coach is played by Scott Glenn who plays a hard and despicable character who 'pushes' them too hard to achieve their personal best."PERSONAL BEST" is filled with unnecessary nudity including countless scenes inside a sauna where you get to see young female athletes baring all. There are also several explicit sex scenes involving Chris and Tory which would probably not be suitable for younger children. One questionable scene involves Chris and a male athlete/temporary love interest in a bizarre toilet scene that has absolutely nothing to do with the movie - but other than that, the rest of the film is quite inspirational.When the movie isn't trying to be serious, there are some comedic moments including a scene where Chris asks Tory to 'pull her finger'. Another thing "PERSONAL BEST" successfully achieves is building a story around a 'lesbian relationship' without delving into silly stereo-types and cliché's that spoiled other films of the same time (ie. "WINDOWS" and "THE LONELY LADY").When it all boils down to it, what drove Chris and Tory to achieve their personal best was not endless training and their physical attributes, but their love and friendship for each other which was something that would probably last forever. "PERSONAL BEST" is a film about athletics and it is also a love story.Yes, Mariel Hemingway has starred in a lot of trash (ie. "LIPSTICK", "SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE", "BAD MOON") - but it is "PERSONAL BEST" which I remember her the most for. Patrice Connelly was also a very good actress, but she has since retired from acting after appearing in only two films. This movie brought back a lot of memories about the 70's and the 80's and how innocent love could be in times that weren't so troubled.I highly recommend this film, not just for sports enthusiasts, but for also those who are seeking a romantic love story.My rating - 8 out of 10

I would like to begin by saying that this movie really hits it on the mark for showing the human side of its characters. Its portrayal of love of many forms rings astounding true from the beginning to the end. I would like to add, though, that it does strike me viewing it today as somewhat exploiting its lesbian relationship and the female form in general. I have seen many other films, however, where such scenes were not accompanied by the proper human drama that should be found in such relationships, and that is a far worse crime for a film to make. If you can ignore the occasional lewd seen, this movie has far too much heart for it to be missed.