Risky Business (Blu-ray)
2-disc 25th Anniversary Edition (w/Digital Copy)
APPROX. 99 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 1983 - MPA RATING: R
" Risky Business showcases the breakout performance of an eventual superstar--and with his name being Tom how can you go wrong?
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"I'm an excellent driiiiiver." -- Rain Man
Yeah, I know... wrong Tom Cruise movie. Though, I still couldn't help being reminded of the quote during that one particular scene in "Risky Business." To refresh your memory, I'm referring to the time Joel put the pedal to the metal of his father's Porsche 928 and hightailed it all over the streets of Chicago in order to ditch Guido--the killer pimp. Technically speaking, I guess that's what some might call Cruise control.
Oddly enough, 1983's "Risky Business" just happens to be one of those titles that has always escaped me. But to be honest, it wasn't my fault. For starters, the film is rated "R," and when it first made its theatrical debut roughly a quarter of a century ago, I was only six years old. The movie's abrasive language, nudity, and sexual situations aren't exactly appropriate for a youngster still with a full set of baby teeth. So I missed out at an early age, and over the years, the film just continued to evade my presence.
As fate would have it, this all changed when Warner Bros. recently decided to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of "Risky Business" by releasing a completely remastered edition on both DVD and Blu-ray. It isn't very often that a classic piece of cinema gets the honor of being reviewed by a fresh pair of eyes, and that's what happens in this case here.
Tom Cruise started out his acting career in films like "Endless Love" (1981), "Taps" (1981), "The Outsiders" (1983), and "Losin' It" (1983), but no one would argue his involvement in "Risky Business" put him on the map as an A-list superstar. It was the first time we were able to see him deliver a powerful performance forged of humor, drama, and charismatic flair.
Written and directed by Paul Brickman, "Risky Business" tells the story of Joel Goodsen (Cruise), a high school senior who often fantasizes about cars, girls and money--although not necessarily in that order. To make my point, the film opens with a dream sequence where Joel stumbles upon an incredible young woman taking a steamy shower.
"You want me to go?" Joel asks.
"No," she says. "I want you to wash my back."
Sounds like a plan to me. This is my kind of movie already.
Back to the plot, Joel belongs to Future Enterprisers, an extracurricular activity to help him sharpen up his business skills for college. He's lined up an interview with a rep from Princeton (Richard Masur), and even plans on retaking his entrance exams to increase his chances of getting into the prestigious school. It seems like Joel has everything planned out and is on the straight and narrow, so his wealthy parents (Nicholas Pryor and Janet Carroll) leave their son in charge of their mansion while they go on vacation for a week.
Big mistake.
With no supervision whatsoever, Joel does what any red-blooded male teenager would do in this kind of situation. He raids the liquor cabinet. He cranks the stereo and monkeys with all of the equalizer settings. He takes his father's Porsche out for a spin even though he was specifically told to only use his mother's station wagon. And thanks to the mastermind work of his friend Miles (Curtis Armstrong), he eventually ends up calling a hooker to come over and show him a good time. Sidenote: Armstrong is a terrific character actor, but he'll always be Booger from "Revenge of the Nerds" to me.
Lana (Rebecca De Mornay) does show Joel the time of his life, but the next morning when it's time to pay the piper so to speak, Joel discovers that he doesn't quite have enough cash on hand. Since Lana isn't stupid and refuses to take a check, Joel rushes to the bank and naïvely leaves his new friend in the house all alone. When he returns, Lana is gone--and so is his mother's extremely valuable crystal egg.
With the knickknack missing, Joel panics. How is he going to explain this one to his parents? I slept with a prostitute and paid her with the dust magnet on the mantle? No, that wouldn't fly. So Joel comes to the conclusion that his only option is to track down the sticky-fingered call girl and get it back. Of course, the plan is much easier said than done, or else we wouldn't have a movie.
