‘Vision Quest’ at 40: Matthew Modine Looks Back on His First Starring Role, His Most Embarassing Moment on Set and Sharing a Trailer With Madonna

variety.com:

Vision Quest” arrived smack in the middle of the ‘80s teen movie renaissance. It was preceded by John Hughes’ first two films, “Sixteen Candles” and “The Breakfast Club” (the latter by less than a month), as well as bona fide blockbusters like “Footloose” and “The Karate Kid,” making it seem at the time like a commercial trend-follower.

Yet from the first frames of its story, about a fling between ambitious high school wrestler Louden Swain (Matthew Modine, gangly and determined) and a smoldering drifter named Carla (Linda Fiorentino), director Harold Becker’s adaptation of Terry Davis’ 1979 namesake novel stood immediately apart from its box office competition.

Its tone and pacing owed more to coming-of-age stories like “Little Darlings” and “Breaking Away” where victories like Louden’s over his mythic wrestling opponent were anything but a forgone conclusion, and the pivotal romance with Carla is not just thorny but ends on a bittersweet note.

That approach may also explain why it performed modestly upon release, even with Madonna’s chart-topping single “Crazy For You,” her first ballad, amplifying the film’s visibility — and prompting producers to change its name — around the globe.