The Competition (1980)

So much average

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The Competition is a well-crafted movie that features some interesting ideas about forbidden romance, but it is highly forgettable in the end. If anything, the movie is a good showcase for Richard Dreyfuss, five years removed from his breakthrough performance in Jaws. The film also features a good deal of music and the piano work is masterful and soothing to the ears. However, this is really not about a piano competition or music. At its core, we get a sweet (and perhaps a bit superficial) love story between two pianists. There is a huge international piano competition occurring in San Francisco, where the world's best pianists gather to compete against each other. The first place prize is a $20,000 cash reward and a two-year concert contract. This is Paul's (Richard Dreyfuss) last chance to win the prize. However, newcomer Heidi (Amy Irving) might be the slightly better pianist. The two rivals form an unlikely romance, but is it likely to survive? The reason the movie rises above mediocrity is because of its performances. Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving have a great rapport with each other. They are charming, and it is obvious their chemistry is strong. Lee Remick gives a strong supporting performance as Heidi's piano coach, Greta. Greta has a belief that Paul is trying to psychologically undermine her student so he can take the grand prize. I also must give credit to the actors for making us believe they play their own pianos. According to the end credits, there are actual pianists playing the music. I don't have a trained eye, so I believed they were playing the music for real.The Competition is a warm, genuinely-sweet movie about an offbeat romance between two unlikely lovers. Is it a great movie? Not particularly, but no one can complain about a little syrup in our movies, can we? I would have liked more emphasis on the actual competition, and there is a weird subplot regarding a Russian piano teacher defecting to the United States that doesn't quite fit in. But in the end, this is a showcase for Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving to show off their talents and their chemistry. My Grade: B

I think this movie is where the long downhill slide for Richard Dreyfuss first began. Before this, it seems like everything he touched turned to gold--"Jaws", "Close Encounters", "The Goodbye Girl", "Duddy Kravitz but that stopped with this film. "The Competition" is slow, pretentious, and boring.Even Amy Irving is forgettable in this one. Director Joel Oliansky never got to direct another feature after this snooze-fest.It's like the film wants to be a "Paper Chase" for music, but it fails on just about every level imaginable. Dreyfuss would to be sure, still put in a good performance now and again, but after this movie his star never shined as bright and his movies were all on a downhill slide.Too bad, because once he was a hell of an actor.

In 1980 this was a heartwarming love story. In 2005 this is a stale piece of soap. Stand by Your Man should have been the piece Amy Irving played in the competition, because throughout the entire film her character's growth consists of becoming a doormat for the Richard Dreyfus character. I could hardly sit through this two decades later, amazed at Irving's masochistic need to take anything Dreyfus dished out.In this movie, love means having to say you are sorry, over and over again, especially when you have nothing to be sorry for.Ugh.

To begin without thanking the principals for awesome piano faking would be horrendous, likewise to not applaud their training by Jean Evensen Shaw. There is a precision to what they do, with Amy and Richard to be sure but with all of them, that is astounding. It's a sweet tale but also an insight into the cruel world of music competition where the real hero this time around has to be Ludvig himself. If you have music and performing in you; if you have been classically trained; if you believe in love; then you will in turn love this movie and its music.