American Anthem is a 1986 American sports drama film produced by Lorimar Motion Pictures and released in North America by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by Albert Magnoli, and starred Mitch Gaylord and Janet Jones.
The subject of the film was a football player turned gymnast who was seeking to join the United States Olympic gymnastics team. Gaylord was a member of the gold-medal U.S. men's gymnastics team at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Cast
- Mitch Gaylord as Steve Tevere
- Tiny Wells as Jake
- Janet Jones as Julie Lloyd
- Michael Pataki as Coach Soranhoff
- Patrice Donnelly as Danielle
- R.J. Williams as Mikey Tevere
- John Aprea as Mr. Tevere
- Michelle Phillips 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 as Lin Xiang
- Googy Gress as Alan Cole
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released on CD, LP and cassette by Atlantic Records.
- Two Hearts - John Parr (6:07)
- Run to Her - Mr. Mister (3:34)
- Same Direction - INXS (5:08)
- Battle of the Dragon - Stevie Nicks (5:15)
- Wings to Fly - Graham Nash (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 received aggressively negative reviews from famed critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert; with Ebert called "as bad as any movie I've seen this year (1986), and so inept that not even the gymnastics scenes are interesting"; and Siskel called the film "complete junk; you can see more interesting gymnastics on Wide World of Sports than in this garbage". Gaylord's performance in the film earned him a Razzie Award nomination for Worst New Star, where he lost to "the six guys and gals in the duck suit" from Howard the Duck.
References
External links
- American Anthem on IMDb
- American Anthem at Rotten Tomatoes
- American Anthem at Box Office Mojo