Vision Quest Movie Review (1985)

Talk about triggering – I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started this film about a high-school wrestler. But now I can’t stop thinking about it and how uncomfortable Vision Quest made me.

This is one of those movies that has always been in the ether. I know the cover of the movie, I had seen it on Blockbuster shelves as a kid, and periodically heard the name of the movie mentioned, but I never watched it and didn’t know what it was about. Now I think it was the universe’s way of doing me a solid.

Vision Quest is about a high-school kid named Louden who is a member of the wrestling team at school. Although he is doing well in his weight class, he is determined to wrestle against the guy several weight classes below him and will do whatever it takes to make it happen. Over the course of the movie, he also meets a 21 year-old artist who he and his father invite to live with them temporarily (you know, as you do), falls in love with her, and she becomes an additional passion – suddenly in contention to become a larger passion than wrestling.

This film was super triggering for me for so many reasons that I’m not going to be able to stop myself from going into it. There are spoilers below, so if you do not want to know anything else, please stop reading here or jump past the spoiler area!

***SPOILERS BELOW***
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Okay, honestly. This movie is about a sweet kid who decides to take on anorexic habits to fulfill a goal of wrestling in a weight class way below his healthy weight just to beat one other kid who we don’t meet other than to learn that he’s a beast. In the process, Louden faints, has constant bloody noses, seemingly has other health issues, but then comes through at the end and wins with no consequences whatsoever? The end narration alludes to living and dying at any moment, but all we see is him winning and getting celebrated. Seriously??

The messaging is horrible. I’m trying to look at it through an 80s lens, but even so, there should be some lesson. Don’t do this at home, kids. This wasn’t a great choice for this just-turned-18-year-old-boy, even if he was sweet and had good intentions. But no, nothing like that.

What we’re taught is that if you develop an eating disorder and serious health issues, it’s okay as long as you have a goal. And that all of the adults in your life will be a little concerned about you, but then encourage you to keep losing the weight to beat a rando. No thank you.

***END SPOILERS***

Matthew Modine is adorable as Louden. He has a very sweet smile and genuineness about him – you want him to win at anything he does. He is the only reason to watch this film, in my opinion.

Linda Fiorentino, as Louden’s love interest, is wooden, not charming, and I’m not sure why this kid fell in love with her, other than that she has the body parts he’s interested in.

Speaking of – there is an odd storyline where Louden gets caught smelling her clean underwear, suddenly wants to be a gynecologist, and writes an article on the clitoris, apparently because he’s now obsessed with sex. It feels more creepy than your typical sex-obsessed teenager story, but since Louden is so serious about all of the things, it leaves you unsure about his actual intentions. It’s just strange.

There are some very cool wrestling-team training sequences highlighted in Vision Quest and you randomly get Madonna singing “Crazy For You” at a club (in her “Like A Virgin” era lace outfit), so those are fun. But other than that? Skip it.

Runtime: 107 minutes

Motion Picture Rating: R

Languages Spoken In The Film: English

Should You Watch It? No

Did I Cry? No, but I wanted to because of how much I didn’t like it

My Rating: 1.75/5 Stars

Available: To rent on Prime Video or may be available for free on other streaming platforms