Movie Review: Risky Business (1983) directed by Paul Brickman
Joel Goodson (Tom Cruise) is an upper-middle class kid in his last year of a Chicago high school. He’d like to get into Princeton like his father, but his grades are only okay, his SAT scores are mediocre, and his extracurriculars aren’t very shiny. Even his Future Enterprisers project is largely being carried by his friend Barry (Bronson Pinchot). It’s no wonder Joel is having anxiety dreams where efforts to score with girls turn into nightmares. Joel’s parents (Nicolas Pryor and Janet Carroll) are going out of town for a week or so to visit a relative, and leave him in charge of the house.
Joel’s friend Miles (Curtis Armstrong), who’s already secured a place at Harvard, convinces Joel to relax a bit, maybe break some rules. Joel doesn’t need that much convincing, indulging in booze, loud music, and driving the fancy car his father specifically told him not to. The next day, Miles pranks Joel by calling to request a prostitute for Joel that night.
When Jackie (Bruce A. Young) arrives, Joel is freaked out by her being a) much older than him, b) trans, and c) black, and just wants her to go away. This is not Jackie’s first time dealing with this, and she’s a skilled negotiator who talks Joel into letting her call a cab and paying her $75.00 for her trouble. She also gives him the number of Lana, a call girl who she estimates is much more Joel’s speed.
All het up and unable to sleep, Joel calls Lana (Rebecca De Mornay), who turns out to be a pretty young blonde, skilled with nervous first-timers, and they spend the night together. In the morning, it turns out Joel doesn’t have enough money to pay Lana. This gets him in deeper and deeper as he has to deal with Lana’s pimp Guido (Joe Pantoliano) and Lana’s other “friends” in the business. This culminates in Joel agreeing to turn his family’s house into a brothel for the night in an effort to recoup his losses.
This movie was Tom Cruise’s first lead role, and was a cultural keystone for young men of the time period. (I was just out of the age range and had not seen it until now.) The underwear dance is iconic, though it’s very early in the movie before the main plot kicks in.
There were scenes I very much liked, including the one where Joel is interviewed by a Princeton recruiter (Richard Masur), interrupted by the partiers.
But as a whole, I found this movie difficult to watch. I did not find Joel endearing or terribly sympathetic. The “romance” was boring and slimy. And the very end of the movie felt dishonest.
Content note: Threats of violence. Extramarital sex (no genitalia), prostitution. Underage smoking and drinking. Partial nudity. Possibly a bit of racism/transphobia by Joel in how he reacts to Jackie.
Recommended for horny teenage boys and people who really, really like Tom Cruise.
