Very disappointed :(

Powerful

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

The acting in this movie is really good.

This movie helped launch Tom Cruise's film career as he previously was in the 1981 Endless Love, Taps, The Outsiders, and Losin' It, but all those movies don't compare to 1983's Risky Business as Tom Cruise (Joel Goodsen) hit it big with these classic,staring along with Rebecca De Mornay (Lana) the prostitute he character hires when his parents are away. The movie has the Tom Cruise dancing in his underwear scene, the music is also well-known as also Tom Cruise actually running. The script is clever as it all add's together, by the end he pay's off Lana's bill, fixes his father's Porsche, get's accepted into Princeton, get's Lana to become his girlfriend, and figures out what he want's to do with his life. Also Joe Pantoliano has a supporting role as Guido, Lana's "manager" who show's up at the end and Joel takes care of him by the end of the movie. Curtis Armstrong also is in the movie as he play's Miles Dalby (Joel's best friend) who encourages him to break the rules while his parent's are away. The cast help's make the movie a classic along with the crew.

'Risky Business' had the potential to be a cool movie, but ironically it's downfall is in how few risks it actually takes. This movie could have been highly entertaining and funny, but I found it to be neither. Instead I thought it was way too safe and with too few ideas. The first half an hour or so is decent, but then it hits a wall and never really goes anywhere.I didn't particularly like the main character either. Considering the movie centres around him, the character should have had a lot more charisma and personality. Instead he's just an 'average Joe' and his reckless streak is actually quite tame. 'Risky Business' should have been more bold and taken more risks. The whole movie just feels safe and lacking in ideas and conviction.

It may be difficult for some, and for the younger ones the context is not there, but do you remember when Tom Cruise really gave a full PERFORMANCE? By this I mean in a movie where he had to play at a full range of emotions and explore a character who has to face real obstacles and has an arc that takes him on a journey from one place in his life to another - in this case the "coming of age" story, perhaps some pun intended- but one that didn't require him to run away from explosions or kill people (I won't say he doesn't run at all in this movie, though here it's for things like making sure he's not late to school)? This is one of them, the one that made him a star, and it's clear to see why as we see him as Joel start out in a rather simple position - a teenager with girls on his mind (or, more accurately, sex) but with some neuroses and doubts - and through some decisions involving the idea of "hey, f*** it" gets in way over his head.Risky Business is the kind of film that might not be able to get made today; imagine a studio exec hearing a pitch that involved a teenager getting a call girl, let alone setting up basically a (brief) brothel out of his house, to pay off some very bad luck moments and decisions he gets in to with the Rebecca Demornay character (and Joe Pantoliano, what a great heel he gets to play the hell out of! every moment's a delight that he's on screen). It probably would be laughed off, or told it wouldn't make much money. I'm glad someone took a chance on it at the time, since it holds up today. For the most part. As long as you meet it halfway, which isn't too hard. Indeed Brickman's tone as a filmmaker is to make things feel rather serious and grounded in the style so that when their is humor, and there's a lot, it comes out of awkward tension and behavior.It has a constantly fascinating mix of comedy and drama not unlike The Graduate. No, it's not in that league, but Brickman swings for the fences as far as depicting as honestly as he can under the circumstances he sets up for himself (which are a little just pre-John Hughes world, it IS Illinois by the way so the milieu is somewhat the same). You feel the struggle that Joel has, and hope that he can get out of his predicament, though at the same time he keeps getting into more precarious waters. It's relatable, especially if anyone ever got into just a little trouble as a younger person, which I assume are most of you. It's simply that Risky Business takes things further and further along.And it's sexy. Boy is it a sexy looking, sounding (Tangerine Dream's score is wonderful), and acted and performed. But it also finds the humor in sex too, how absurd it is to suddenly see about a dozen beautiful women come through a door, one by one. So if you want to see a studio dramedy that takes chances with an early Tom Cruise performance where he's acting his ass off, this is one. You have to suspend your disbelief, such as for how things like money transactions with prostitutes actually work and how it seems like ALL of the male high schoolers and ALL the attractive call girls just happen to be around and willing to go for it over one night), but as the film plays you really don't question things too much and can go with the fun and real *stakes* that this very R-rated story has.It's comical, thrilling, and it takes genuinely surprising turns that come naturally from plants and payoffs in the story. Risky Business is not at all what I expected, which was just some goofy and dopey teen comedy (the iconic, yes, iconic, shot of Tom Cruise in the underwear doing the first lip-sync battle with no one to Bob Seger was all I really knew about it), and what I got is a movie for adults that happens to have teenagers as the main characters.

Risky Business is a good older teen film - yes it's funny. And no Joel (Cruise) should not do what he does in the movie but that is what creates the comedy and some of the drama in the film. Basically, if Joel did what he was suppose to do then we would not have a movie to watch.I think Tom Cruise was great in this movie - but he's gotten better over the years (IMO). And the film is worth watching for Tom Cruise's performance - and not just for his famous dancing scene in the film.Another reason to watch this movie is the story. Risky Business does have an interesting story to follow - and it's not all comedy.On a personal note: I'm surprised the IMDb movie is low on this classic Tom Cruise film. Should be a bit higher (but that's just my opinion).7.5/10