Scientific research has proven that women are in no way less suited for strenuous activity than men. In fact, they seem to be better equipped physically for athletic events that demand endurance. The two central characters in Personal Best are superbly conditioned competitors in the pentathlon — a track event consisting of 100 meter hurdles, long jump, shot put, high jump, and an 800 meter race. The women meet at the 1976 Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, and for three years share a complex personal relationship of work and play, love and competition.
Chris Cahill (Mariel Himingway), a 100 meter hurdler, is taken under the wings of Tory Skinner (Patrice Donnelly), a seasoned pentathlon athlete, after she finishes last in a race. They begin a sexual relationship that is fulfilling to both of them. Tory believes that Chris has the strength, flexibility, and drive to become a star in her event. She convinces Terry Tingloff (Scott Glenn), her intense and domineering coach, to make Chris a member of his pentathlon squad.
In his directorial debut, Robert Towne (whose screenplays include Chinatown, The Last Detail, and Shampoo) has fashioned a robust film that is at once tough and sentimental in its portrait of women athletes. Personal Best is sure to stir up controversy in many circles with its idiosyncratic picture of Olympic grade champions in their leisure moments, its carefree use of frontal nudity, and its portrayal of a lesbian love affair. Nonetheless, even those who are uncomfortable with these aspects of the film will find themselves caught up in the story's enthusiastic exploration of the physical, psychological, and philosophical sides of the main characters.
Patrice Donnelly, a former member of the U.S. Olympic Team and once the fourth-ranked hurdler in the world, is totally convincing as Tory, a woman who becomes young Chris's substitute mother, friend, and mentor. It is Terry's win-at-all-costs ethic that finally becomes a wedge between the two women as they square off against each other in a South American meet and in the final Olympic qualifying competitions.
Mariel Hemingway's delineation of Chris is credible. Her liaison with Tory enables her to bloom as an individual and eventually gives her the emotional maturity to fall in love with Denny (Kenny Moore), a water polo player who is charmed by her inner beauty and physical prowess.
While Personal Best has neither the thematic depth nor the exceptional inspirational qualities of Chariots of Fire, another portrait of Olympic atheletes, this film’s scrabbling rhythms, interesting characters, and solid affirmation of women athletes rank it far above the many "sort-of-about-sports" films. And Michael Chapman's cinematography poetically celebrates muscle tone and physical grace.
