''American Anthem'' is a 1986 American

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Albert Magnoli Albert Magnoli (born 1954)The San Bernardino County Sun: July 16, ...

and starring

Mitch Gaylord Mitchell Jay Gaylord (born March 10, 1961) is an American gymnast, actor, and Olympic gold medalist. Early life Gaylord was born in Van Nuys, California, the son of Fred and Linda Gaylord, and is Jewish. Gaylord graduated from Grant High Schoo ...

and

Janet Jones Janet may refer to: Names * Janet (given name) * Janet (French singer) (1939–2011) Surname * Charles Janet (1849–1932), French engineer, inventor and biologist, known for the Left Step periodic table * Jules Janet (1861–1945), French psych ...

. The film was produced by Lorimar Motion Pictures and released in North America by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

Plot

Football player turned gymnast Steve Tevere seeks to join the United States

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

team. Gaylord was a member of the gold-medal U.S. men's gymnastics team at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

Cast

as Steve Tevere * Tiny Wells as Jake *

as Julie Lloyd *

Michael Pataki Michael Pataki (January 16, 1938 – April 15, 2010) was an American actor. Early life Pataki was born in Youngstown, Ohio. His parents were Hungarians. He was the youngest of three children - one older brother and one older sister. He atten ...

as Coach Soranhoff *

Patrice Donnelly Patrice Michelle "Pat" Donnelly (born April 30, 1950) is an American retired track and field athlete and actress, known primarily for hurdling. Background Donnelly was born in San Diego, California. She attended Grossmont College. She was a high ...

as Danielle *

R.J. Williams Robert Jackson Williams (born July 19, 1978) is an American media and Internet entrepreneur, and former child actor. He is the founder of the media company Young Hollywood. Early life and education RJ Williams was born in Los Angeles, Californi ...

as Mikey Tevere *

John Aprea Jonathan "John" Aprea (born March 4, 1941) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his role as the young Sal Tessio in '' The Godfather: Part II'' (1974) and on television as Lucas Castigliano in '' Another World'' from 1989 to 1992 ...

as Mr. Tevere *

Michelle Phillips Michelle may refer to: People *Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael * Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle" * Michelle (German singer) * Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottish wi ...

as Linda Tevere * Kathrine Godney as Landlady * Stacy Maloney as Kirk Baker * Peter Tramm as Ron Denver * Maria Anz as Becky Cameron * Jenny Ester as Tracy Prescott * Andrew White as Arthur * Dick McGarvin as Announcer Prelim Meet * Mark Oates as Danny Squire * Jan Claire as Announcer Final Meet * Megan Marsden as Jo-Ellen Carter *

Li Yuejiu Li Yuejiu (; born July 4, 1957) is a male Chinese former gymnast. Li was born in Liaoning Province. He competed at the 1984 Olympic Games, and won a silver medal in the Men's Team competition. He was China's first World Champion in flo ...

as Lin Xiang * Googy Gress as Alan Cole

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on CD, LP and cassette by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. The album contains songs by various artists, including two themes from the film, composed and conducted by

Alan Silvestri Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has been associated with director Robert Zemeckis since 1984, composing music for all of his feature films including the ''Back ...

. # Two Hearts -

John Parr John Stephen Parr (born 18 November 1952) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, best known for his 1985 single "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)", charting at number one in the US and number six in the UK, and for his 1984 US number- ...

(6:07) # Run to Her - Mr. Mister (3:34) # Same Direction -

INXS INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...

(5:08) # Battle of the Dragon -

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

(5:15) # Wings to Fly -

Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...

(4:00) # Take It Easy - Andy Taylor (4:22) # Wings of Love - Andy Taylor (5:03) # Love and Loneliness - Chris Thompson (5:03) # Angel Eyes - Andy Taylor (3:26) # Arthur's Theme - Alan Silvestri (2:50) # Julie's Theme - Alan Silvestri (1:42)

Reception

The film was a box office flop, grossing only $4.8 million against a $7 million budget. The film received aggressively negative reviews by critics especially from famed critics

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...

and

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

; with the latter called "as bad as any movie I've seen this year (1986), and so inept that not even the gymnastics scenes are interesting" while the former called the film "complete junk; you can see more interesting gymnastics on '' Wide World of Sports'' than in this garbage". ''American Anthem'' currently holds a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on sixteen reviews, with an average rating of 2.5/10. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B-" on an A+ to F scale.

Accolades

Gaylord's performance in the film earned him a

Razzie Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

nomination for Worst New Star, where he lost to "the six guys and gals in the duck suit" from ''

Howard the Duck Howard the Duck is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck first appeared in ''Adventure into F ...

''.

References

External links

* * * {{Albert Magnoli Gymnastics films Films about the 1984 Summer Olympics Films about Olympic gymnastics 1986 films Albums produced by Roy Thomas Baker 1980s English-language films 1980s sports drama films Films scored by Alan Silvestri American sports drama films Films directed by Albert Magnoli Columbia Pictures films 1986 drama films 1980s American films