Risky Business (1983)

 

Off-List: Risky Business

For my second off-List movie of 1983, I am again going down memory lane rather than picking something objectively good. “Risky Business” was a big film for me in the late eighties. I was of course too young to watch this on release, but as a teenager I thought it was awesome. In hindsight, I find that infatuation somewhat questionable, but I suppose that is what this movie does, hitting it home with teenagers. At least the male segment.

A very young Tom Cruise is high school student Joel Goodsen. His affluent parents are... a bit dominating, so when they go away on a trip, leaving the house to Joel, he is very much enjoying his freedom. Joel’s friend Miles (Curtis Armstrong) insists it is time for Joel to lose his virginity and calls a prostitute for him. The transvestite that shows up is rather intimidating, but the girl he/she sends instead is any teenage boy’s dream girl. Lana (Rebecca De Mornay) knocks his legs off in an almost dreamlike sequence. That lasts until the next morning when she demands 300$ for her services. That starts a chain of events that pitch Joel against Lana’s pimp, Guido (Joe Pantoliano), several encounters with Lana, and finally sending his father’s Porche into Lake Michigan.

In an attempt to regain the losses, Joel and Lana setup Joel’s home as a one-night brothel, where the affluent teenagers of the neighbourhood can buy some cozy time with some of Lana’s friends. This is a huge success, but with high risks come big losses.

Besides being a well directed and well played movie, I think “Risky Business” worked so well because it taps into several dreams.

There is the obvious one, of the teenage boy full of hormones who gets to have sex with the girl of his dreams. That she is a prostitute in this context only means that the focus is sex. The dark side of that coin is only revealed later when we learn that Lana has an unpleasant history. For Joel and most teenage boys, this is simply a fantasy.

Then there is the entrepreneurial dream, how to take an opportunity and turn it into an economic success. This is so early eighties, with the ruthless yuppie ideal. That Joel and Lana are making their business venture on prostitution is merely piquant, not really offensive (servicing young men). When Joel puts on his shades and a cigarette, he becomes that yuppie.

Finally, there is the age old coming of age story, turning Joel from a boy under the combined thumbs of his parents, into a confident and experienced man. Facing and dealing with adversary, getting a girlfriend and taking responsibility (including being responsible for his own actions) is always a winner.

This combination sold the movie to me back in the day. It has been a long time since I watched it last time and while I can see why it worked, I think I out-grew it. From an adult perspective, what was cool and awesome is now juvenile and problematic, similar to what happened to “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. Now I see some layers in it that are darker. Lana is not the happy prostitute, pimping is a brutal business and there is an innocence lost here. “Risky Business” gets some credit for showing that, but it is definitely not what sold the movie to me back then.

I am not a big Tom Cruiser fan and maybe that spoils if for me today, but 35 years ago I could not care less. For a young audience I think it might still work today.

 

On a completely different side note: a few days ago, I went to the cinema to watch Wim Wender’s “Perfect Days”. Very highly recommended.