Inside Moves

Inside Moves
Inside Moves
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Richard Donner
Screenplay by	Valerie Curtin; Barry Levinson;
Based on	Inside Moves; by Todd Walton
Produced by	Mark M. Tanz; R. W. Goodwin;
Starring	John Savage; David Morse; Diana Scarwid; Amy Wright;
Cinematography	László Kovács
Edited by	Frank Morriss
Music by	John Barry
Production; company	Goodmark Productions
Distributed by	Associated Film Distribution (United States and Canada); Producers Sales Organization (International);
Release date	December 19, 1980;
Running time	113 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$1.2 million

Inside Moves is a 1980 American drama film directed by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Valerie Curtin and Barry Levinson, based on the novel of the same name by Todd Walton. The film stars John Savage, David Morse, Diana Scarwid, and Amy Wright. At the 53rd Academy Awards, Scarwid was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.^[3]

Plot

After a suicide attempt leaves a man named Roary partially crippled, he finds himself living in a rundown house in Oakland, California. He spends a lot of time at a neighborhood bar, which is full of other disabled people, and becomes best friends with Jerry, the barman with a bad leg.

Jerry gains the attention and respect from the Golden State Warriors when he scrimmages a player and loses narrowly. After the bar owner suffers a heart attack, a new waitress named Louise is hired. Roary develops romantic feelings for Louise.

Jerry's luck turns round when one of the professional basketball players lends him the money for an operation to fix his leg. Once he is fully healed, Jerry becomes a basketball star, fulfilling his lifelong dream. However, he abandons his old friends by pretending they never existed.

Later, Jerry's old friends begin to resent him for his negligence, Roary visits Jerry and pressures him to visit the bar. Jerry offers up a half-hearted excuse for his absence, and despite Roary's feelings, begins seeing Louise in secret.

Roary finally confronts Jerry about his behavior and offers some final thoughts on their friendship and what the bar and its patrons meant during his recovery. After Roary leaves, Jerry angrily reflects on his past decisions.

Roary reunites with Louise. Jerry returns to the bar and reveals his insecurities to his old friends, who understand right away.

For the first time in 25 years, Max closes the bar, so everyone can attend Jerry's basketball game.

Cast

John Savage as Roary
David Morse as Jerry Maxwell
Diana Scarwid as Louise
Amy Wright as Anne
Tony Burton as Lucius
Bill Henderson as Blue Lewis
Steve Kahan as Burt
Jack O'Leary as Max
Bert Remsen as Stinky
Harold Russell as Wings
Pepe Serna as Herrada
Harold Sylvester as Alvin Martin
Arnold Williams as Benny
George Brenlin as Gil
Gerri Dean as Hooker
William Frankfather as Fryer

Production

In his 2006 audio commentary for Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, Donner states that he agreed to direct Inside Moves only to take his mind off being fired and replaced from Superman II.^[4] He referred to Inside Moves as "the smallest film I could do that was just very near and dear to me, at that point, and I felt this is going to take my mind totally off that."

The film marked the return to the screen by disabled veteran Harold Russell, 34 years after his Oscar-winning role in The Best Years of Our Lives.^[5]

Donner's biographer James Christie relates how the director would often confuse cinematographer Kovács with his fellow Hungarian Vilmos Zsigmond. When Zsigmond visited the set, Donner had T-shirts made up that read "MY NAME IS NOT LÁSZLÓ" and "MY NAME IS NOT VILMOS" for each of them. Later, they switched shirts and confused everyone.^[6]

Reception

Critical response

Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[7] Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that "Inside Moves is such a well-acted movie, and parts of it are so effectively offbeat, that it rises above its own potential for sappiness, just as surely as its characters triumph over their troubles." Maslin also called it "a modest and sentimental movie, but also one that, on its own terms, accomplishes what it means to."^[5] Emanuel Levy described the film as "a compassionate, well acted melodrama about what it means to be a disabled American."^[8]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
1981	53rd Academy Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Diana Scarwid	Nominated
1982	15th Turkish Film Critics Association (SİYAD) Awards	Best Foreign Film	Inside Moves	8th Place

References

^ "Inside Moves (1980)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American Film Distribution: The Changing Marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 300. ISBN 978-0835717762. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
^ "The 53rd Academy Awards | 1981". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 5 October 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
^ Donner, Richard (director) (2006). "audio commentary". Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (DVD). Warner Bros. Pictures.
^ ^a ^b Maslin, Janet (December 19, 1980). "'Inside Moves,' Starring John Savage". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
^ Christie, James (2010). You're the Director...You Figure It Out. The Life and Films of Richard Donner. BearManor Media. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-59393-527-6.
^ "Inside Moves". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
^ Levy, Emanuel (June 9, 2011). "Inside Moves (1980): Donner's Disability Melodrama, Starring John Savage and Diana Scarwid in Oscar-Nominated Performance". Emanuel Levy. Retrieved February 11, 2023.