American Anthem

I have to give it a 10. I had a life size poster of Mitch Gaylord on the back of my door from 85-92! There was no crush that could match my crush on Mitch. I would have seen any movie that he was in, gymnastics or not. Shoot, he was the reason I watched the Olympics back then. American Anthem is a great movie. It had good characters and you were really pulling for them. Granted, I was a kid when I saw it... but as far as 80s movies go... this one belongs in the ranks of Dirty Dancing, The Breakfast Club, and Sixteen Candles. I borrowed the video from a friend and remember keeping it for years. She came and got it a few days before I left for college!! I haven't seen since, but I'd buy the DVD if there were one!

Coming off the highly successful 1984 summer olympics and seen as the hearthtrob of the games, Mitch Gaylord took his shot at the movies with this pic. The plot, such as it is, has Gaylord playing a gymnast, quite a stretch, who meets the new girl in town Janet Jones who is the only thing worth looking at in the movie, as they train for the olympics with a strict coach. Guess what, they fall for each other too. Obvious plot, dumb writing, clichés everywhere. Only if you are a fan of gymnastics, Mitch Gaylord, or Janet Jones and even then there are other choices out there. This and Kurt Thomas' Gymkata were the two and thankfully the only 2 gymnastic movies released. We were spared a Mary Lou Retton and a Domonique Moceanu movie luckily... My rating is one only because there is no zero

There's really not much better than the high concept films of the '80s, and this one has it all. Ever notice how in these films, everyone in the ENTIRE TOWN seems centered around whatever miraculous achievement the star is involved in?

In this case, it's a whole group of friends, a whole family and a WHOLE TOWN focused on gymnastics! This movie made me want to rush out and become a gymnast, though I think that may be tempered by the fact that my teeny-bopper mind wanted to fall into the awaiting arms of Mitch Gaylord.

Granted, Mystic Pizza made me want to work in a restaurant and North Shore made me want to...uh...go to Hawaii and make fun of people, but as a film rooted in its conception of gymnasts, nothing's better than the would-be star who fails and fails until he finally gets it right.

Hoo-yeah.

Andrew White pretty much steals the show as Julie's cousin, Arthur, a musician who lost his parents and was injured in a car accident. Not hard to do when you've got charisma vacuums like Mitch Gaylord and Janet Jones playing the leads. What you've heard about this film recycling elements from Rocky IV and Purple Rain is absolutely true, but it does so without any of the style or interest. I've also seen reviews that trash Alan Silvestri's bombastic score, and I'll admit that it's melodramatic in the extreme, but it's also one of the few things aside from some great gymnastics footage that kept me awake. It's a real shame considering a great film could be made about gymnasts. This just isn't it.

This was a bad movie. The acting was mediocre, the plot was mediocre, and the characters were mediocre. However, the gymnastics were excellent and saved this movie from being a total waste. 4/10 for style, and being mediocre instead of dreadfully awful.