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Personal Best

Play trailer Poster for Personal Best R 1982 2h 4m Drama LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
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74% Tomatometer 34 Reviews 53% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Young sprinter Chris Cahill (Mariel Hemingway) is having difficulty reaching her potential as an athlete, until she meets established track star Tory Skinner (Patrice Donnelly). At first the two women form a friendship as Tory and her coach (Scott Glenn) help Chris with her training. Gradually, Tory and Chris start having a sexual relationship and become very close. Their intimacy becomes complicated when Chris' improvement causes them to be competitors for the Olympic team.

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Personal Best

Personal Best

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Critics Consensus

Mariel Hemingway has a career-making star turn in this highly physical drama about two Olympic athletes who find each other during competitive training.

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Critics Reviews

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Bob Thomas Associated Press 10/22/2018
The leads are convincingly athletic, the characters well drawn. Go to Full Review Peter Hartlaub San Francisco Chronicle 05/30/2018
2/4
[Robert] Towne's direction can be frustrating - at one point Donnelly and Hemingway run up a sand dune for what seems like five minutes - but the result is 50 percent more realistic than the average sports film. Go to Full Review Pamela Kessler Washington Post 05/30/2018
But "Personal Best" only jogs along sometimes: It suffers from fleshing out. Go to Full Review Malinda Lo AfterEllen.com 05/06/2024
In effect, Personal Best was among the first of a rising tide of gay and lesbian films with relatively positive messages. For the first time, gays and lesbians began to find love in the movies, and... happy endings began to be seen. Go to Full Review Victoria Brownworth Philadelphia Gay News 05/26/2020
It's fun, like any sporting event. And, like some record-breaking sporting events, it's defining, because in it women are seen as strong, vital and magnificent, and the lovers seem not extraordinary because of their homosexual liaison. Go to Full Review Janet Singleton Big Mama Rag 05/19/2020
How this film sees a woman's body is, for American cinema, revolutionary. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Vincent S @Vin_E_At_The_Movies Mar 27 This is one of the best movie surprises of the 80s and it is fantastic. This is a very realistic sports drama about female competition, and it is way more than a LGBTQ love story. Mariel Hemingway, Patrice Donnelly and Scott Glenn give natural, intense performances and the direction is compelling and sucks you in. This is one of the greatest, unsung movies of all time. See more John K. @Duckbill Dec 1 Great movie, love the performances especially Mariel Hemingway. See more Gary B @garywb40 12/13/2023 Excellent movie about female competition and the Olympics. See more Nizar N @RT00283363 03/17/2023 Besides the notions it portrays and explores whether in sport or tolerance, there is nothing much in the plot to be offered. Essentially it's just another sport drama with the same predictable series of events. Personal Best is however redeemed by its ending. See more 02/05/2022 Give it your personal best Mariel Hemingway, Scott Glenn, and Patrice Donnelly The Olympic Trials take place in 1976 Sprinter Chris Cahill is making it to the big leagues as a professional runner Her competition is Tory Skinner They both start to form a friendship but it becomes romantic which both of them didn't count on Add that to Chris' new coach Terry which also puts a strain on things; she has to choose whether to beat her at the running competition or let it slide Hemingway and Donnelly are a dime a dozen together The movie feels a tad stretched out and there's way too much emphasis on the human drama If the sport itself was more influenced I wouldn't mind so much But the movie is to be commended for its portrayal of LGBTQ athletes and how a woman's body should be viewed taking the sport seriously See more 06/29/2021 When the movie Personal Best first came out at the theater I had went to see it right away and that I have always adored Merle Hemmingway's, first class acting and that part in Personal Best too where she had gotten food poising from that fast Greek food cart. That was the bomb! acting; Yea Love it! M.J.Q. See more Read all reviews
Personal Best

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Cast & Crew

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Robert Towne

Director

Mariel Hemingway

Chris Cahill

Patrice Donnelly

Tory Skinner

Scott Glenn

Terry Tingloff

Kenny Moore

Denny Stites

Jim Moody

Roscoe Travis

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Personal Best

Personal Best (1982) Personal Best (1982) Personal Best (1982) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Young sprinter Chris Cahill (Mariel Hemingway) is having difficulty reaching her potential as an athlete, until she meets established track star Tory Skinner (Patrice Donnelly). At first the two women form a friendship as Tory and her coach (Scott Glenn) help Chris with her training. Gradually, Tory and Chris start having a sexual relationship and become very close. Their intimacy becomes complicated when Chris' improvement causes them to be competitors for the Olympic team.
Director
Robert Towne
Producer
Robert Towne
Production Co
The Geffen Company
Rating
R
Genre
Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 5, 1982, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 21, 2016
Runtime
2h 4m