I remember watching “Vision Quest” at the George Street, Cinemas during a stopover in Sydney travelling home to Canberra from boarding school in Brisbane. It was released in Australia under the title “Crazy for You”. It did not rival the box office success of the “Karate Kid” at the time however it was a more accurate picture of teen life. I remember wanting to see it as I heard that Madonna had a brief appearance singing, “Crazy for You.”
It does generate and excitement and drama in its depiction of High School wrestling in the United States. The concept of the “vision quest” is inarticulately explained by Kuch, rough Mohawk-shaven, motorcycling buddy of Matthew Modine’s Louden Swain. A ‘vision quest’ is a native American concept – a self-directed mission to find one’s place in the “circle.”
In his final year of high school, Louden places himself on such a vision quest. A top wrestler in his own lightweight level he sets himself down to a more difficult weight that is dominated my muscled killing machine with the menacing name of Shute.
Louden falls in lust / love with an older woman named Carla, who by a combination of convenient plot devices ends up renting Louden’s bedroom. Carla was played by a very sexy Linda Fiorentino.
One of my favourite scenes was a beautiful scene from J.C. Quinn a working-class philosopher who works with Louden in a hotel kitchen and delivers a memorable ‘pep talk’ based on a highly moving memory of once seeing the fantastic Pele on television.
Another great scene I am reluctant to cite a spoiler warning as the film is over 30 years old.
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