Movie · 1983 · Romance, Comedy, Drama · 1h 38m · R · English
Curator score: 5.4/10 (236.9K ratings)
There's a time for playing it safe and a time for Risky Business.
Overview
Meet Joel Goodson, an industrious, college-bound 17-year-old and a responsible, trustworthy son. However, when his parents go away and leave him home alone in the wealthy Chicago suburbs with the Porsche at his disposal he quickly decides he has been good for too long and it is time to enjoy himself. After an unfortunate incident with the Porsche Joel must raise some cash, in a risky way.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.4/10
IMDb: 6.8/10
Letterboxd: 3.43/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 75
TMDB: 6.6/10
Director
Paul Brickman
Production
Geffen Pictures, The Steve Tisch Company, Jon Avent Productions
Cast
Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, Joe Pantoliano, Richard Masur, Bronson Pinchot, Curtis Armstrong, Nicholas Pryor, Janet Carroll, Shera Danese, Raphael Sbarge, Bruce A. Young, Kevin Anderson, Sarah Partridge, Nathan Davis, Scott Harlan, Sheila Keenan, Lucy Harrington, Jerry Tullos, Jerome Landfield, Ron Dean
Curator Review
Verdict
A stylish, slyly cynical 80s coming-of-age comedy that plays like a glossy teen fantasy with a sharp satirical edge. It’s funny, sexy, and more anxious than it first appears, with a breakout Tom Cruise performance and a memorable synth-heavy atmosphere.
Best for
Viewers who like teen comedies with a darker undercurrent
Fans of 1980s style, music, and suburban satire
People interested in early Tom Cruise star turns
Anyone who enjoys movies that mix sex, danger, and social commentary
Skip if
You want a straightforward feel-good comedy
You dislike sexual content or transactional romance plots
You prefer subtle, low-key filmmaking over flashy 80s stylization
You’re looking for a purely realistic coming-of-age story
Overview
Risky Business is one of those 80s movies that looks like a glossy teen romp but keeps revealing a sharper, stranger edge. The setup is simple: a privileged kid left alone with too much freedom, too much money, and not enough judgment. But Paul Brickman turns that premise into something more pointed about class, desire, and the performance of confidence.
Worth noting
Tom Cruise is magnetic here, already operating at star level, and Rebecca De Mornay gives the film a cool, destabilizing charge. The movie’s most famous moments are iconic for a reason, but the real appeal is the uneasy tone underneath the fun: this is a comedy that understands how quickly privilege can become panic.
Bottom line
What lingers is the film’s mix of seduction and dread. The soundtrack, the suburban emptiness, and the polished visual style all make the world feel both inviting and hollow. It’s entertaining on the surface, but it’s also a sharp little critique of the era that produced it.
Top Letterboxd reviews
ava adore (3.5★) · 1628 likes
1. an anxiety attack
2. imagine tom cruise getting into princeton with a 3.1 gpa, literally the power of pussy
comrade_yui (5★) · 1449 likes
the pervert's guide to capitalism
Eli Hayes (4.5★) · 1384 likes
'What the fuck' gives you freedom,Freedom brings opportunity, Opportunity makes your future.
Cleverly written, well made, prophetic and beautifully scored.
This movie is so much betterthan it has any right to be.
francis (4★) · 1196 likes
that scene on the train where Tom Cruise gets his ass grabbed while In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins played was when I realized that I wasn’t watching a movie, i was watching a film.
#1 gizmo fan (4★) · 1135 likes
"Looks like the University of Illinois!"
I love icons.
1999 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 43m · R · Curator 7.8/10 (309.8K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus, Philo
For its biting view of ambition, status, and the absurdity of self-justifying behavior.
2013 · Crime, Drama, Comedy · 3h · R · Curator 7.9/10 (5.7M ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, AMC+, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
If the appeal is the intoxicating rush of excess and the sense that pleasure and corruption are inseparable.