Risky Business
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: August 5, 1983
4.0
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Mixed or average reviews based on 149 Ratings
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Mixed:
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Negative:
72
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5
amheretojudgeApr 23, 2018
but nobody answers..

Risky Business The sense of urgency and the thrill fades away quickly before the scrutiny even hits the screen where the stakes aren't high enough as the writers anticipated; a better build up would have been adequate.but nobody answers..

Risky Business

The sense of urgency and the thrill fades away quickly before the scrutiny even hits the screen where the stakes aren't high enough as the writers anticipated; a better build up would have been adequate. Paul Brickman; the writer-director, attempts to seek in on and communicate easily with audience by approaching through something that one can easily resemble which was a smart move but unfortunately wasn't taken care of throughout the course of it. Tom Cruise is brilliant and compelling as a teenager and carries it off all in its shoulder with head held high. Risky Business is not your typical teenage movie which is true up till certain point after which it turns out to be the same repetitive slog.… Expand
2 of 2 users found this helpful20
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4
Dragonfly44Jan 27, 2019
Great acting and writing. But boy - this movie wasn’t very enjoyable. Extremely boring and felt pointless the whole way through.

Rating - 47%
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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7
JayH.Aug 31, 2008
Clever plot, and in spite of Tom Cruise being in it, it's a good movie. Nice performances. Funny, well written and directed with style. Good flick.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
7
sinadoomFeb 15, 2013
A short, basic film which, although very cheesey, predictable and scripted; is still good entertainment. It's catchy, funny and straightforward. It doesn't fall into a particular category or anything, so it's something for everyone.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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8
TTW107Apr 21, 2012
I am legitimately pissed off that I just saw this movie because it's way better than what I thought it was going to be. I cannot believe I deprived myself of such an amazing movie the past twenty years of my life. I guarantee this movie staysI am legitimately pissed off that I just saw this movie because it's way better than what I thought it was going to be. I cannot believe I deprived myself of such an amazing movie the past twenty years of my life. I guarantee this movie stays a classic even a century from now.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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7
SpangleJan 12, 2017
A classic 1980s teen coming of age comedy, Risky Business is certainly a unique film. The story of a young man, Joel (Tom Cruise), whose parents leave town and give him the house for the weekend, the film certainly goes in a direction that itA classic 1980s teen coming of age comedy, Risky Business is certainly a unique film. The story of a young man, Joel (Tom Cruise), whose parents leave town and give him the house for the weekend, the film certainly goes in a direction that it is unexpected. This is all kicked off when one of his friends jokingly calls a prostitute and, after a black transvestite shows up and recommends somebody more Joel's speed, he is introduced to young prostitute Lana (Rebecca De Mornay). What ensues is a week of debauchery, chaos, college interviews, and studying. A neo-noir esque coming of age tale of materialism and capitalism, Risky Business earns its classic status with solid performances from its cast and an infectious feeling of fun and audacity that permeates the whole film.

As may be clear, one of the biggest issues for Risky Business is its plot. While it works as a comment on the state of society for high schoolers and the trepidation one feels when heading to college, its plot is a bit far fetched. A high school guy strikes up a constant companionship with a prostitute over the course of a week and opens a brothel? That is a little too crazy and can somewhat hurt the film as a relatable story of teen angst. While Tom Cruise finds his spots to bring it back to its roots as a coming of age story, the story often brings the film into a completely new genre with a variety of different thematic explorations that feel out of place in a coming of age film. Fortunately, this is not your run-of-the-mill coming of age film and, while the plot is a bit much, it does help set up the greatest strength of the film.

That strength is its visual style. Films such as Michael Mann's Collateral or Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive feel like later successors to the way in which director Paul Brickman catches suburban Chicago at night time. With neon covered landscapes and Joel even having a neon sign in his room, Risky Business is one of the first films of the neon revolution and feels oddly digitalized for a film that obviously was not. Adding to the equation is a neo-noir take on the coming of age film with Rebecca De Mornay portraying the seductive and sensual femme fatale, Lana. Always convincing Joel to make bad decisions, she is the very definition of a dangerous woman and is one who lets the plot unfold through this guidance. Constantly finding himself between a rock and a hard place because he cannot escape the clutches of her beauty, Joel succumbs to her every whim. Adding this to the aesthetic of the film, it feels like Risky Business is often a unique take on adding neo-noir style and some of its story conventions to the coming of age story, which honestly, works because of capable direction and lustfully great turn from Rebecca De Mornay who defines sex in the film. At one point, she wears a fedora-esque hat with a jacket and skirt and somehow even that looks brilliant on her, so it is not hard to see Joel following her around like a puppy dog.

Akin to Drive again, Risky Business also features a vintage 1980s synth score courtesy of Tangerine Dream that certainly adds to that neo-noir feeling of the film for me. That said, the score pales in comparison to the scene in which Joel has sex with Lana on a train as we hear "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins. It is impossible to deny that the song itself is a masterpiece, so adding it to a sex scene on a train only serves to make that one of the most iconic sex scenes off all-time. Of course, where the film finds success is also in its destruction of innocence. This scene goes a long way to doing that as Joel is a charming, smart, and thoroughly innocent young man who has only dreamed of doing something with a woman. Thus, the situation he finds himself in with Lana is beyond foreign and almost surreal. Cruise pulls this off with an always charming and charismatic turn that may not always stick the landing, but it does hint at his potential to become a top-notch actor.

Yet, the film finds some great success in its exploration of themes such as materialism. Constantly trying to replace stolen and valuable possessions of his parents, Joel still draws ire from his parents when a glass egg has a miniscule crack inside of it. This really drives home just how important these material goods are to his parents and also all of Joel's friends who come from a similar silver spoon lifestyle and are the very definition of preppy. All of them really define materialism and the final results of the American dream for kids whose parents have made it big, as they are all entitled, spoiled, and convinced the world owes them something for just being themselves. With capable performances, Risky Business highlights yet another good 1980s teen comedy actress whose filmography unfortunately turned into a who's who of movies nobody has seen in 20 years. That said, De Mornay makes the most of her premier role, as does the future superstar Tom Cruise. Together, they turn a crazy crime… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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7
MrMickeyRichJan 28, 2016
Risky Business is arguably Tom Cruises break out role that made him who he is today. It is a film with a rather simplistic plot but that doesn't take away from the movie. The film was a very enjoyable and kind of sexy at times being aRisky Business is arguably Tom Cruises break out role that made him who he is today. It is a film with a rather simplistic plot but that doesn't take away from the movie. The film was a very enjoyable and kind of sexy at times being a raunchy teen flick. The movie has an awesome dance scene and is a very quotable movie. Risky Buisiness can be predictable at times but has enough new to not seem cle-shade. Definitely worth a watch.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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10
MovieMasterEddyApr 7, 2016
"Risky Business" is a movie about male adolescent guilt. In other words, it's a comedy. It's funny because it deals with subjects that are so touchy, so fraught with emotional pain, that unless we laugh there's hardly any way we can deal with"Risky Business" is a movie about male adolescent guilt. In other words, it's a comedy. It's funny because it deals with subjects that are so touchy, so fraught with emotional pain, that unless we laugh there's hardly any way we can deal with them -- especially if we are now, or ever were, a teenage boy.

The teenager in the movie is named Joel. His family lives in a suburb on Chicago's North Shore. It's the sort of family that has three cars: the family station wagon, Mom's car, and Dad's Porsche. As the movie opens, Mom and Dad are going off on vacation to a sun-drenched consumer paradise and their only son, Joel, is being left alone at home. It's a busy time in Joel's life. He's got college board exams, an interview with a Princeton admissions officer, and finals at high school.

It gets to be an even busier time after his parents leave. Joel gets involved in an ascending pyramid of trouble. He calls a number in one of those sex-contact magazines and meets a young hooker who moves into the house. He runs afoul of the girl's pimp. His mother's expensive Steuben egg is stolen. His dad's Porsche ends up in Lake Michigan. The family home turns into a brothel. He blows two finals. And so on.

This description may make "Risky Business" sound like a predictable sitcom. It is not. It is one of the smartest, funniest, most perceptive satires in a long time. It not only invites comparison with "The Graduate," it earns it. Here is a great comedy about teenage sex.

The very best thing about the movie is its dialogue. Paul Brickman, who wrote and directed, has an ear so good that he knows what to leave out. This is one of those movies where a few words or a single line says everything that needs to be said, implies everything that needs to be implied, and gets a laugh. When the hooker tells the kid, "Oh, Joel, go to school. Learn something," the precise inflection of those words defines their relationship for the next three scenes.

The next best thing about the movie is the casting. Rebecca De Mornay somehow manages to take that thankless role, the hooker with a heart of gold, and turn it into a very specific character. She isn't all good and she isn't all clichés: She's a very complicated young woman with quirks and insecurities and a wayward ability to love. I became quietly astounded when I realized that this movie was going to create an original, interesting relationship involving a teenager and a hooker. The teenage kid, in what will be called the Dustin Hoffman role, is played by Tom Cruise, who also knows how to imply a whole world by what he won't say, can't feel, and doesn't understand.

This is a movie of new faces and inspired insights and genuine laughs. It's hard to make a good movie and harder to make a good comedy and almost impossible to make a satire of such popular but mysterious obsessions as guilt, greed, lust, and secrecy. This movie knows what goes on behind the closed bathroom doors of the American dream.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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9
SimpsonFansJan 14, 2017
Taking off from the format of a typical teenage sex comedy, Brickman deepens the characters and tightens the situations, filming them in a dark, dreamlike style full of sinuous camera movements and surrealistic insinuations. Brickman found aTaking off from the format of a typical teenage sex comedy, Brickman deepens the characters and tightens the situations, filming them in a dark, dreamlike style full of sinuous camera movements and surrealistic insinuations. Brickman found a tone I hadn't encountered previously - one of haunting, lyrical satire.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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9
Tiber5Jan 14, 2017
Taking off from the format of a typical teenage sex comedy, Brickman deepens the characters and tightens the situations, filming them in a dark, dreamlike style full of sinuous camera movements and surrealistic insinuations. Brickman found aTaking off from the format of a typical teenage sex comedy, Brickman deepens the characters and tightens the situations, filming them in a dark, dreamlike style full of sinuous camera movements and surrealistic insinuations. Brickman found a tone I hadn't encountered previously - one of haunting, lyrical satire.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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9
ThisIsSparta666Jan 14, 2017
Taking off from the format of a typical teenage sex comedy, Brickman deepens the characters and tightens the situations, filming them in a dark, dreamlike style full of sinuous camera movements and surrealistic insinuations. Brickman found aTaking off from the format of a typical teenage sex comedy, Brickman deepens the characters and tightens the situations, filming them in a dark, dreamlike style full of sinuous camera movements and surrealistic insinuations. Brickman found a tone I hadn't encountered previously - one of haunting, lyrical satire.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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9
PAMAJan 14, 2017
Taking off from the format of a typical teenage sex comedy, Brickman deepens the characters and tightens the situations, filming them in a dark, dreamlike style full of sinuous camera movements and surrealistic insinuations. Brickman found aTaking off from the format of a typical teenage sex comedy, Brickman deepens the characters and tightens the situations, filming them in a dark, dreamlike style full of sinuous camera movements and surrealistic insinuations. Brickman found a tone I hadn't encountered previously - one of haunting, lyrical satire.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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9
Pama300Jan 14, 2017
Taking off from the format of a typical teenage sex comedy, Brickman deepens the characters and tightens the situations, filming them in a dark, dreamlike style full of sinuous camera movements and surrealistic insinuations. Brickman found aTaking off from the format of a typical teenage sex comedy, Brickman deepens the characters and tightens the situations, filming them in a dark, dreamlike style full of sinuous camera movements and surrealistic insinuations. Brickman found a tone I hadn't encountered previously - one of haunting, lyrical satire.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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9
Creepers200Jan 14, 2017
Taking off from the format of a typical teenage sex comedy, Brickman deepens the characters and tightens the situations, filming them in a dark, dreamlike style full of sinuous camera movements and surrealistic insinuations. Brickman found aTaking off from the format of a typical teenage sex comedy, Brickman deepens the characters and tightens the situations, filming them in a dark, dreamlike style full of sinuous camera movements and surrealistic insinuations. Brickman found a tone I hadn't encountered previously - one of haunting, lyrical satire.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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4
Gamzguy17Aug 22, 2021
There are some noteworthy aspects to this film which include its often funny, satirical teen humour and a fine performance from Cruise, but, and I may well be in the minority when I say this, "Risky Business" leaves much to be desired withThere are some noteworthy aspects to this film which include its often funny, satirical teen humour and a fine performance from Cruise, but, and I may well be in the minority when I say this, "Risky Business" leaves much to be desired with its overall message with regards to business/capitalism. It proclaims that many-a new graduate should pursue life towards business and money because money will ONLY bring happiness. This message did not seem to be played for laughs and as a result, this serious piece of cynical corporatism gradually left me feeling bitter before the film's end. Having to reflect upon it while writing this review only provoked more internal frustration.… Expand
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8
SuperbaDMIkeJun 22, 2022
Risky Business may not appeal to other people but this is a good ass movie your parents watched in the 80's. Totally fell in love with Cruise.
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