Breaking Away

It's very, very much worth seeing.

I seriously can't imagine anyone not liking it.

There are a few moments when the picture's easygoing pace turns into wobbliness, but these are insignificant compared with its many moments of shrewd insight into the lives of amusingly shaded but very recognizable human beings.

Though its plot wins no points for originality, Breaking Away is a thoroughly delightful light comedy.

Peter Yates, previously typed as an action director, lends the film a fine, unexpected limpidity, and the principals are mostly excellent.

Displays the kind of unsentimental optimism that went out of fashion with Hawks.

A commercial American movie with a real feeling for its Midwestern locale, and an unsentimental generosity towards its characters.

A textbook definition of a sleeper hit.

Part coming of age comedy, part underdog sports tale, and part glimpse into small-town America, the film is an effortless joy as it explores a tight friendship approaching the inevitable.

Director Peter Yates's delightfully unpredictable comedy uses a local bicycle race to uncover the sexual, class and economic tensions within an all-American community.