RISKY BUSINESS
(director/writer: Paul Brickman; cinematographers: Bruce Surtees, Reynaldo Villalobos; editor: Richard Chew; music: Tangerine Dream; cast: Tom Cruise (Joel Goodson), Rebecca De Mornay (Lana), Joe Pantoliano (Guido), Richard Masur (Rutherford), Bronson Pinchot (Barry), Curtis Armstrong (Miles Dalby), Nicholas Pryor (Joel’s Father), Janet Carroll (Joel’s Mother), Raphael Sbarge (Glenn), Shera Danese (Vicki); Runtime: 96; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Joel Avnet, Steve Tisch; Warner Home Video/Criterion Collection; 1983)
“What the f—!”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
The directorial debut for the writer Paul Brickman (“Men Don’t Leave”) is an uneven teen comedy that made a big splash upon its release. The stylish, quipster-loaded, teen sex comedy is ludicrously funny as a raucous coming-of-age social satire on consumption and horny suburban teens. But many bits don’t work and the film stagnates before it can put the right finishing touches on its cynical way of showing how to live out the American Dream.
Joel (Tom Cruise, in his first leading role) is a naive sex-starved masturbating virgin, who is a Chicago high school senior, living in the suburbs, in the lake region, whose wealthy parents (Nicholas Pryor & Janet Carroll) want him to go to Princeton, which is a good enough reason for him to want to go there.
When his parents are out of town, the kid’s seduced by the prostitute Lana (Rebecca De Mornay). He has sex in the shower with her for too long and arrives too late to take the College Boards exam.
Joel’s a natural capitalist, and turns his parents’ home into a money-making brothel for his horny teen friends to hook up with Lana. When Lana’s pimp Guido (Joe Pantoliano) shows up for his cut of the action, the kid is forced to partner with him.
The film’s highlight scene is Cruise’s famed rock-out to Bob Seger while in a dress shirt and undies, and clamoring for the freedom of sometimes saying, “What the fuck!”
The music of Tangerine Dream sets the film’s mood, which is enhanced further by the likes of The Police, Bruce Springsteen, and Talking Heads.
It’s hard to forget the stylish look of the Cruise character sporting Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses, a look which became iconic over the years.
REVIEWED ON 9/2/2024 GRADE: B
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