Review of Risky Business (1983) by Wild Willie N — 10 Feb 2010

Did you ever watch a movie as you were growing up, then watched it later when you were older, and thought, "Wow, still flawless."?

Risky Business is certainly the movie that did that for me. On the cover, RB is the memorable, 80s cult classic that shot one of Hollywood's highest paid actors into stardom with a Bob Seger's best tune and an unforgettable pair of tighty whiteys. When viewed through the correct perspective, the film clearly demonstrates what a few other popular sex comedies of the decade failed to represent: true depth. RB explores the world of by-chance teenage excess shadowed by the excess and Reaganomics of the 1980s, toiling desperation, and fleeting recklessness with infallible taste and a steamy scene to match.

Time of your life, huh kid?

* One of my favourite scenes in this film is after Cruise has accidentally put his father's car in Lake Michigan. Because he has to get it towed out, he misses a day of school. His absence is marked unexcused. He fails two midterms because of this, trashing his GPA. He practically assaults the school nurse who marks him unexcused, earning himself a 5-day suspension. He also gets kicked out of Future Enterprisers. In short, his permanent record, that he has spent all his high school years maintaining for his parents' and colleges' approval, partaking in multiple extra curricular activities, working his butt off, is... well, wrecked. The sequence I love is this: Cruise is sent into a downward spiral of desperation in a frantic attempt to find Lana. He looks everywhere: his house, the train station, everywhere. He finally finds her, in her apartment. They embrace, and he falls to tears in her arms. The camera pans around them and ultimately fades to black. Did I mention this montage is narrated by the ethereal sound of Love On a Train by Tangerine Dream?