Review of Risky Business (1983) by Stephanie D — 02 Jul 2014

Review In A Nutshell:

Risky Business is the tale of a young man, financially well-off and is above average in his studies, gets into a mess after his encounter with a call girl.

The first thing I want to say to the people reading this who have not seen the film is to not have any sort expectations that this film would be a comedy, once you get that idea out of your head then this film would actually be an enjoyable and, in a way, a thought provoking film about life experiences. Before seeing the film, I was sadly under the impression that I was going to watch a typical comedy from the 1980s and that its sole purpose is to excite my superficial nerves with stories about teen angst, rebellion, and crude humour; this was the reason why I wasn't satisfied with what was given to me during the film's first 20-30 minutes. It is when the film kicked into high gear during the protagonist's, Joel, second encounter with the call-girl, Lana; it was from then on when I realised that this film was more serious than I thought and to appreciate it, one must change their perspective of the film.

The film is essentially trying to tell its audience the importance of taking risks in life, and that choosing a safe path would get you to the destinations but the ride isn't all that satisfying. The film explores the two consequences in taking risks, and when things get rough, one must have the ability to fix it or else your future is chosen for you. It was so fascinating and at times hilarious, on how this young man's life has changed just because of a minor decision he made; there were even times where I felt regret for his actions as maybe the gratifying experience was just not worth all this stress, but I started to think about it after the film ended and I started to agree with what the film tried to deliver at the end about life experiences valued as priceless and it did shape the person you are right now. Some experiences should simply stay in the past and should only be cherished in retrospect, and at a point one has to let go of the stimulus that causes it, think of Joel's experience as a cigarettes or drugs, one is glad that they were able to experience it but when one gets too deep into it, it starts to destroy you slowly in time leading to a point of dependency; at this stage reversing your life would most likely be too late.

I was glad that the film was able to avoid hitting the typical plot points that plagues most of the films in the 1980's. The film kept me surprised and constantly thinking on how it would turn out and how the protagonist would react to a particular situation. The film captures the unpredictability in life quite well, with situations that maintain plausibility while still surprising us. The film at times may lose focus on the initial problem but it doesn't stray far enough for me to get upset about. I don't believe truly has a physical villain, I saw it as the negative consequences for his actions as the antagonist of the story; this way the film stays focused on its themes while still delivering moments that wouldn't have been as effective if the villain was a mortal figure.

Tom Cruise as the film's protagonist, at first felt too perfect in the role, but as the film progresses it started to make more sense and his performance became much more satisfying to watch. Cruise brought likability to the role, having us feel sympathetic to all of the horrible stuff that he has gotten himself into. One could easily feel that everything that happens is a sense of karma and avoid us feeling any sympathy, but with Paul Brickman's direction and Tom Cruise's accessible performance, the film was able to avoid this. Rebecca De Mornay as Lana was a wonderful choice in the role, she doesn't embody that perfect specimen that films use as the lead's love interest, but she definitely is something that young men could lust over, with her perfectly shaped body and that raw sexual presence she brings whenever she is in the room. Both Mornay and Cruise avoids in giving us the glances and magnetism that dampens the atmosphere, which is commonly found in films during the time of Risky Business' release; instead it gives us something rawer and gritty that almost removes all sense of romanticism.

There is definitely value in Risky Business, it reminds us of the consequences that come with our decisions and also that no matter what the experience was that came with the decision, and it should be cherished and used as a lesson in building one's future.