The Competition (1980)

Directed by Joel Oliansky. Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Amy Irving, Lee Remick, Sam Wanamaker, Joseph Call, Vicki Kriegler, Ty Henderson, Bea Silvern, Adam Stern. [PG]

Competition and romance between piano prodigies, one past his prime after years of coming up short, the other on the rise and poised to become a winner. Passionate drama, but the dialogue is badly overwritten, so the actors have nowhere to go, and the zeal turns to grandstanding. Dreyfuss’ character might have made for a fascinating study of narcissism and unstable emotion, but as a professional/romantic hero, he borders on the insufferable, and the movie caves in to show favoritism to his whims. The subplot of a music-teaching Russian defector should have been left on the cutting room floor. Written by director Joel Oliansky.

41/100