Personal Best (DVD, 2008)

A well told story, it mixes athletics, coming of age, personal growth, interactions between friends, and manages to do so without being stupid or stooping to the lowest common levels.

There is nudity-- but not fake people nudity, the athletes look like athletes, not plastic dolls in tight clothes, there aren't any breast implants, and acting is more important than the looks, so the story takes center stage.

Well worth it, maybe even for those who are "technically" too young, a chance for them to get a handle on what they are going to wind up living though-- athlete or not.

This movie was pretty provoking when first released, and that's why I bought it. In today's world, it is not as taboo as it was back then. I still like the movie, because it deals with the confusion of coming of age, and the reality that things we try aren't always going to work out the way we had planned. If I were seeing it for the first time, I would probably not rate it as highly, simply because there have been better films made since then dealing with the same sort of issues. However, I will always smile during the scene when "moth balls" are mentioned..........clever humor.

I collect alot of movies,and have always thought Mariel Hemingway is very pretty.This was one of her early movies and the first time I've seen it available on DVD.

As a person who has been a runner for sixty years - whith and without coaches the movie does an excellent job showing the personality of a coach dealing with a much younger person - the active athlete. It is fascinating to think back and rememeber the confrontations between me the coach. The coach pushesx the athlete to and past the limit.