Risky Business Review

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Director: Paul Brickman

Screenplay: Paul Brickman

Starring: Tom Cruise (Seriously, if you don't know who this guy is, we need to talk), Rebecca De Mornay, and Joe Pantoliano (The Goonies, The Matrix)
Gross Revenue: $63,541,777
Rotten Tomatoes Tomato Meter: 98%
IMDB Rating: 6.7
  Ever working actor longs for that "break-out" role, the one that will launch them into superstardom, or at least into a substantial salary.  Often an actor is hailed for a marvelous and spectacular role, indeed a "break-out" role, but it is quickly realized they do not have the acting chops to make it big in Hollywood.  Once in a while however, these "break-out" actors stick around.  Sometimes in a big way.  Such is the case with Risky Business, Tom Cruise's first major role in a motion picture.  Before Risky Business, Tom Cruise was an unknown actor, trying to navigate his way through Hollywood.  Afterward, he became a massive star and was for a brief period, the biggest box office draw on the planet.  So one must wonder, the movie that made him a star must be good right?  Well, one would be right.

     Risky Business stars the enigmatic Tom Cruise as Joel Goodson, an average student making his way through life in the privileged and highly pressured society of North Shore Chicago.  He makes average grades, participates in a few extracurricular activities, and is certainly not a bad student.  Despite these accomplishments, he is a disappointment to his parents, who want him desperately to attend Princeton University.  When his parents leave for a week long trip, he becomes acquainted with a "hooker with a  heart of gold" named Lana (Rebecca De Mornay).  She convinces him to turn his parents' house into a brothel to enact revenge on her cold-hearted and overbearing "Guido pimp".  At first he participates in these plans reluctantly and half-heartedly, he soon embraces it and goes on an emotional journey that transforms him from a boy to a man.

     The 80's was the decade of the teenage movie.  No decade seemed to best sum up and portray them in their angsty honesty better then the 80's.  Adults on the current generation often nostalgically look back on the 80's as the "golden years", due in no part due to the now classic teenage movies of the time.  Risky Business is certainly a member of this elite film group.  Risky Business is more then just a teenage sex comedy.  It is a satire and analysis of privileged white suburban life.  Joel spends his whole life pressured to be the best, and always live in the shadow of his parents and friends, who seem to succeed so much easier then he does, despite all the hard he puts in.  This has made him very cautious and not prone to taking risks.  He likes to play it safe, and is deathly scared of jeopardizing his future.  After meeting Lana however, this slowly changes.   He starts become more courageous and live his life to the fullest.  He gets involved in car chases, destroys his parents car, and runs an illegal prostitution ring from his parent's house.  All things he would have never done before meeting Lana.

   By dressing the movie as a teenage sex comedy, writer/director Paul Brickman is able to explore themes of teenage identity and growing up.  Joel always played life safe.  He never took risks, and could be described as a "wimp."  But once he develops a "what the heck" attitude, his life explodes with excitement.  Over the course of the film, he develops from a uptight, insecure boy, to a confident self-assured man.  Not to mention, the film is hilarious and incredibly entertaining.

    It is hard to talk about Risky Business and not talk about the best part of the film: Tom Cruise.  It is easy to see here why Tom Cruise went on to become one of the greatest movie stars of all time.  He delivers a charismatic and layered performance at the young age of 20, and is able to show wisdom beyond his years.  He can play both physical and emotional, and has a great sense of humor and comedic timing, a trait not often shown in his later films.  The film's most famous scene, when Joel dances to Old Time Rock and Roll in a dress shirt and underwear, was completely improvised by Cruise, showing also his ability to improvise and understanding of his character.  People that know me know of my ardent and passionate support of Tom Cruise.  Yes, he has done some really weird things in his later years, but look at some of these movies he's done and these wonderful performances.  Cruise doesn't play Joel as a stereotype and plays him as a person, making him relatable to every teenage guy who watches him.  Cruise's first major acting role proudly displays off the talents that will make him a star for future generations.

    Risky Business is everything I like out of movies.  A great story, relatable layered characters, an entertaining plot, and themes to mull over after the movie has ended.  While Risky Business isn't as funny as other teenage sex comedies, it is definitely deeper and a better representation of what it is like to live in a high pressure environment.  It is a thoughtful examination of what it means to truly live, and how to bridge the break in between childhood and adulthood.  Risky Business is an entertaining comedy about loss of innocence and living life to the fullest, which is always entertaining and exciting, anchored by a strong and marvelous performance by Tom Cruise.  4/5
Sometimes you just gotta say "what the heck."