When entrepreneur Craig Blake (Jeff Bridges) buys a small gym, he full expects to demolish the place to make room for a high rise. Instead, he finds himself drawn into a world he never knew existed. From a perky gymnast (Sally Field) who wears her heart on her leotard to a philosophizing Mr. Universe hopeful (Arnold Schwarzenegger), the freewheeling spirit of the gym touches Craig in a way he never expected -- and plunges him into an off-the wall plot to stop his high rise from ever rising.

In Bob Rafelson's STAY HUNGRY, trust fund baby Craig Blake (Jeff Bridges) gets some lessons in life when he falls in love with a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Eschewing the dull path carved out for him by his wealthy southern family, the easy-going Craig teams up with an ambitious real estate developer in Birmingham, Alabama. In an attempt to wrest a piece of property away from its owner, Craig poses as a member of a seedy gym. But this rich boy soon finds himself taking a genuine fancy to the colorful collection of characters he meets there--in particular, bodybuilder Joe Santo (Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his first major screen role), who is training for the Mr. Universe title, and spunky blue-collar babe Mary Tate (Sally Field), the gym's receptionist. The film, based on the novel by Charles Gaines, is lighthearted, unlike Rafelson's austere earlier classics (FIVE EASY PIECES and KING OF MARVIN GARDENS) but deals with many of the same themes, such as dysfunctional families, restlessness, and rebellion.