Risky Business

Written and directed by Paul Brickman, Risky Business follows strait-laced teenager Joel (Tom Cruise) as he finds himself in a whole mess of trouble after hiring a hooker (Rebecca De Mornay’s Lana) for the night. First-time filmmaker Brickman delivers a distressingly erratic comedy that’s far too slick for its own good, as Risky Business tends to hold the viewer at bay with its dreamy, far-from-authentic atmosphere – with the various characters unable to become wholly (or even partially) convincing figures. It doesn’t help, certainly, that several key sequences unfold in a manner that seems almost hallucinatory (eg Joel’s first encounter with Lana), and it’s not surprising to note, consequently, that one’s efforts at working up any real interest in or sympathy for Joel’s plight fall woefully flat. There’s little doubt, then, that Risky Business’ watchable atmosphere is due almost entirely to the efforts of its stars, with, especially, Cruise’s winning and magnetic turn going a long way towards smoothing over the lulls (and bumps) in the erratic narrative. By the time the somewhat anticlimactic (and fairly uninvolving) finale rolls around, Risky Business has ultimately cemented its place as a disappointing misfire that mostly feels like a John Hughes movie stripped of its heart.

** out of ****