Risky Business (1983)
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Risky Business Movie Review
Risky Business is a 1983 teen comedy film directed by Paul Brickman and starring Tom Cruise. It’s a thinly plotted, but very well made movie.
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“Say “what the fuck.”
If you can’t say it, you can’t do it“
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A Chicago teenager is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand. This movie is famous for two things. One is that iconic sequence where Cruise is dancing to the song Old Time Rock and Roll while in his briefs and button-down shirt. It’s a famous movie scene for a reason – it’s very memorable, fun and funny throughout.
But it’s also a well-known flick for Tom Cruise himself, who here gave one of his earliest and best performances. As the good-natured but frustrated Joel, Cruise was highly likable and even charming, which is very rare for him as often comes across as the opposite of those qualities. But in Risky Business it was very easy to root for the guy, especially as he was surrounded by truly despicable people.
Yes, the female characters in this film are quite horrendous human beings. Rebecca de Mornay is very good and memorable as Lana, but this prostitute that only wants to use the poor guy to make money was not the most likable person out there. In fact, she was so horrible to the protagonist that at times it was frustrating to watch, which was I guess realistic, but it made the movie annoying at times.
With that being said, this is still a very strong movie, surprisingly so actually. While I do find its overall plot very standard, it was executed so well that it triumphed over that familiarity when all is said and done. The cinematography, directing and editing are top-notch while the characterization of the protagonist is excellent.
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Risky Business also features stellar dialogue. Thematically speaking, it’s your typical movie dealing with teenage sexuality and teen angst, but the lines are so well written and delivered that ultimately it proved to be a very charming slice of short, light entertainment that really works. I wished for more humor in it as it’s not all that funny honestly, but as a coming-of-age flick it’s one of the better ones.
Risky Business is thinly plotted and standard in its theme of teen angst. The female characters are also too atrocious. But this is still a very good, surprisingly effective coming-of-age flick that benefits from stellar dialogue, strong characterization and excellent technical aspects. It also features one of the earliest and best Tom Cruise performances.
My Rating – 4
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