Movie Review: Risky Business (1983)

★★★★★

Risky Business is peak 80s, and Tom Cruise dancing in his underwear is legendary, but the whole movie is just smooth, funny, and kinda wild.

Brooke T.

California

If you only know Risky Business from that famous scene, Tom Cruise sliding across the floor in socks to Bob Seger, you’re missing out on what makes this movie so fascinating.

Rewatching it for BoxReview.com, I realized it’s one of the smartest teen movies of the ’80s, blending comedy with a surprisingly cynical take on the American dream. Sure, it’s fun, sexy, and stylish, but it also has something to say about ambition, privilege, and the fine line between youthful freedom and moral compromise.

The Premise: A Little Freedom Turns into a Big Mess

Joel Goodson (Cruise) is a suburban high schooler with wealthy parents, a spotless academic record, and a bright future. When his parents go on vacation, Joel is left alone in the house, and things spiral quickly after he meets Lana (Rebecca De Mornay), an escort with charm, street smarts, and a knack for turning Joel’s orderly life upside down.

What starts as a flirtation turns into a full-blown business venture, with Joel transforming his family home into a high-end brothel to solve a very expensive problem.

Tom Cruise Before He Was Tom Cruise™

This was the role that put Cruise on the map, and watching it now, you can see why. He’s not yet the unshakable action hero we think of today; he’s a kid. There’s a vulnerability to Joel, a mix of innocence and calculated risk-taking, that makes him relatable even as he crosses some questionable lines.

What I love is how Cruise lets Joel be awkward. Yes, he has the charisma, but he also has those moments where you can almost hear his internal voice saying, What am I doing? That balance between confidence and inexperience is key to why the story works.

Rebecca De Mornay: The Real Power Player

De Mornay’s Lana is magnetic, equal parts mysterious, manipulative, and oddly sincere. Many reviews treat her as just “the love interest,” but I think she’s the engine of the movie.

She’s not just there for Joel’s awakening; she’s the one who teaches him about risk, about transactional relationships, and about how charm can be a form of currency. It’s a nuanced performance that doesn’t get enough credit.

The Tone: Comedy Meets Capitalism

One of the things people forget about Risky Business is how sharply it satirizes the world Joel is about to enter. The movie’s tagline, “There’s a time for playing it safe and a time for Risky Business,” isn’t just about teenage rebellion; it’s about how the corporate mindset rewards bending the rules, even in high school.

Director Paul Brickman frames Joel’s entrepreneurial turn not as a total moral downfall, but as a trial run for the capitalist game. The way Joel pitches his “services,” solves operational problems, and negotiates with clients feels almost like a parody of an MBA case study, with more mood lighting.

The Style: 80s Cool with a Hint of Noir

Cinematographer Bruce Surtees gives the movie a slick, almost dreamlike look at times. There are long, moody night shots that make Chicago feel like a playground with shadows lurking at the edges.

And then there’s the soundtrack. Tangerine Dream’s score is still one of the most hypnotic in any teen movie. It turns the whole thing into a strange mix of sexy, dangerous, and melancholy.

Under-Discussed Layer: It’s a Cautionary Tale Disguised as a Fantasy

It’s easy to watch Risky Business as a fantasy about freedom, parents gone, no rules, glamorous women, and fast money. But on rewatch, you realize how much of the story is about consequences. Joel’s “success” comes with stress, property damage, and a moral hangover.

The ending, often interpreted as a win for Joel, has a bittersweet edge. He gets the deal, but at what cost? It’s the kind of ambiguity most teen comedies avoid, which is why Risky Business still stands out.

The Humor: Subtle More Than Slapstick

While there are laugh-out-loud moments, Guido the pimp (Joe Pantoliano) always gets me. The humor often comes from awkward silences, mismatched expectations, and Joel’s increasingly absurd attempts to keep control of a situation that’s clearly bigger than him.

One of the most underrated scenes is Joel trying to explain the “business model” to his friends, as if he’s presenting a PowerPoint in economics class. It’s absurd, but it’s also exactly how teenagers process adult situations.

Why Risky Business Still Works

A lot of teen comedies from the ’80s are pure nostalgia now, but Risky Business still feels fresh because its themes of ambition, risk, and the blurred lines between right and wrong haven’t aged.

It also doesn’t shy away from its weirder, darker moments, which makes it more than just a period piece. The satire feels just as relevant in an era where hustle culture and “monetizing everything” are more intense than ever.

Final Thoughts

Risky Business is the rare coming-of-age movie that’s both a guilty pleasure and a sly commentary on growing up in a world where success often means bending the rules.

If you’ve only seen the Bob Seger dance scene, you owe it to yourself to watch the whole thing; it’s smarter, stranger, and more ambitious than its reputation suggests.