Written February 26, 2008
An Early '80s Near-Classic
O.k., you know you're in the early '80s when that cheesy synth score starts up, and ten minutes in, Tom Cruise is doing his best white man shuffle along with a bunch of football players in a locker room. Actually, come to think of it, I do remember this scene with Keanu Reeves decades later in "The Replacements." Anyway, about "All the Right Moves." It's about a bunch of kids trapped in a dreary, cold, constantly gloomy Pennsylvania mining town. They long to escape, and football is a means for many of them to earn a college scholarship and get the heck out. Cruise is the hero, a well-meaning but sometimes overly-****y 5'10" defensive back who manages to tick off the coach enough that he's about to be blacklisted from future recruiting lists. What's of note in this flick are a few things...former cinematographer-turned-director Michael Chapman has a nice touch with his actors, Jan De Bont's lensing is a gorgeous downer, and yes, Cruise at age 20 was still the trademarked Tom Cruise.
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