RISKY BUSINESS RATING: 7 /10 -->Good movie
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PLOT: Rich kid preparing for College suddenly finds himself all alone in the house as his parents leave for a trip. When one of his friends suggests that he loosen up, he turns that piece of advice into a money-making scheme, featuring escort call girls and his friends trading favors for one another, in a wild night of drinks, sex and debauchery.
CRITIQUE: Tom Cruise's breakthrough feature accentuates the rebellion of youth intertwined with the trepidation of a future unknown. A darker, sexier FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF, if you will. And if you won't, you could see this film as an interesting character study of a kid torn between his tendencies to discover the wild side of life before adult responsibilities and his desire to satisfy his parents. I liked it mostly on nostalgic grounds with Cruise coming across as the perfect boy next door with that certain twinkle in his eye, and sunglasses that were just waaaay too big for his face. Having said that, Ray-Ban isn't complaining since this film's success literally quadrupled their sales the next year. This film also features the classic scene of Cruise dancing around in his white briefs and preppy shirt to the tune of "Old Time Rock n' Roll".
Overall, it was unique enough to keep me interested throughout, despite the tepid romance scenes between Cruise and DeMornay and the farfetched nature of some of its scenarios. If you like Cruise, you should see this film at least one, or if you're also in the midst of interrogating your life decisions right before College. All in all, despite its dated feel, this film has an interesting premise, great style and good acting.
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: This film garnered actor Tom Cruise a 1984 Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture- Comedy/Musical. He lost it to Michael Caine for EDUCATING RITA. The top of Tom's head is apparently 5'7" from ground level. This film grossed $63.5M upon its release in 1983. This was writer/director Paul Brickman's first time behind the camera. He only directed one other film after this one, and it was 1990's MEN DON'T LEAVE. The only other film he wrote after this one was 1999's TRUE CRIME (5.5/10). The "bad guy" character of Guido in this film is played by actor Joe Pantoliano. He recently starred as "Cypher" in the 1999 Sci-Fi classic THE MATRIX (7.5/10). Actress Rebecca DeMornay's birth name is Rebecca George. She changed her last name so that she would not be connected to her father. She was raised in France, went to high school and College in Europe and speaks fluent German.
Review Date: November 2, 1999 Director: Paul Brickman Writer: Paul Brickman Producers: Jon Avnet and Steve Tisch Actors: Tom Cruise as Joel Goodson Rebecca DeMornay as Lana Genre: Comedy Year of Release: 1983 --------------------------------------- JoBlo's Movie Emporium http://www.joblo.com --------------------------------------- (c) 1999 Berge Garabedian
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