Vision Quest (released in the United Kingdom and Australia as Crazy for You) is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic drama/sports film starring Matthew Modine, Michael Schoeffling, Ronny Cox and Linda Fiorentino in her first film role. It is based on Terry Davis's 1979 novel of the same name.
Modine plays a Spokane high school wrestler who falls in love with an older woman, an aspiring artist from Trenton, New Jersey, on her way to San Francisco.
The film includes the first major motion picture appearance by Madonna, who plays a singer at a local bar, where she performs the songs "Crazy for You" and "Gambler". In some countries, the title of the film was changed to "Crazy for You" to capitalize on Madonna's emerging fame and the popularity of her song of that name. The film has become a cult classic. The film was shot at Rogers High School in northeast Spokane, referred to as "Thompson High School" in the film.
Reception
The film had moderate success in theaters in the U.S. in 1985, earning a gross of $13 million. The film has gone on to become a cult classic.
Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3.5 stars out of a possible 4, saying while the core storyline was a formulaic sports drama "it is nevertheless a movie with some nice surprises, mostly because it takes the time to create some interesting characters", with standout performances from Modine, Cox, and Fiorentino.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack to the motion picture was released by Geffen Records on February 12, 1985. The soundtrack does not include "No More Words" by Berlin or tracks from REO Speedwagon and Quarterflash, which appear in the film. The background instrumental music by Tangerine Dream is not included, but was later released on the fan project Tangerine Tree 73: Soundtrax.
Reception
The soundtrack received generally positive feedback from music journalists. Singapore Monitor called the album a "very timely collection by some of the bigger up-and-coming names in today's pop and rock scene". Brian Chin from Billboard complimented Madonna's songs on the soundtrack. The album charted in Australia, Canada, and the United States. Upon release, Jeff Bunch from The Spokesman-Review named it one of the "best examples of profitable soundtracks" of unsuccessful movies. The home video release also peaked at number five on Cash Boxs Top 40 Videocassettes. In 2024, the soundtrack was included in Rolling Stone list of the 101 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time.
Impact
thumb|[[Madonna performing "Crazy for You" during her Re-Invention World Tour in 2004]]
The movie was renamed Crazy for You in New Zealand, Australia and the UK after the Madonna song "Crazy for You" to capitalize on the growing fame of the still-on-the-rise singer.
Writing for Cashbox in 1985, Peter Berk explained the film "offered a valuable lesson to the industry", showing "how much a hit song can do to promote an otherwise soon-to-be forgotten movie". He continued, writing that, although Journey's "Only The Young" drew attention to the album, Madonna's "Crazy for You" made the soundtrack "so magnetic to record buyers". He complimented that films like Vision Quest have "made many people aware of just how invaluable the film-music connection is today". In December 1987, Billboard magazine dedicated an article to the links between a movie and a hit single and music videos. In July 1985, Jan DeKnock from Chicago Tribune noted what he called a "movie mania", when various singles from motion pictures reached the first spot in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 that year, beginning with "Crazy for You". It was the first song produced by John Benitez to climb to the U.S. charts, breaking the nine-week streak of "We Are the World". Australian music editor Marc Andrews, in Madonna Song by Song (2022), wrote that "Crazy for You" is now "considered one of the greatest, if not sexiest, love songs of all time". Len Comaratta, from Consequence, called it "a classic in the rock ballad canon". According to Billboard, "Crazy for You" is one of all-time biggest movie songs on the Billboard Hot 100. The Arizona Republic picked it as one of the Best 10 Madonna songs From movie soundtracks.
Track listing
Charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Chart (1985)
! Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 46
|-
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
| style="text-align:center;"| 11
|-
!scope="row"|US Top 100 Albums (Cash Box)
| style="text-align:center;"|30
|}
Certifications
Potential sequel
In 2009, interest in a sequel was generated after Taylor Lautner of Twilight expressed interest. E! News claimed a script existed, which Lautner reportedly approved.