Sometimes, The Unenthusiastic Critic just has to say "What the fuck," so this week she's watching Paul Brickman's Risky Business (1983).
Risky Business was a one-hit wonder for writer-director Brickman, but it was a critical and commercial triumph that launched the career of Rebecca De Mornay and made an international movie star out of Tom Cruise. The studio had been hoping for a teen sex-comedy a la Porky's, but Brickman actually delivered something smarter, more stylish, more satirical, and considerable darker.
Risky Business was a staple of Michael's teen-age years in the 1980s, but what will Nakea make of it, watching it for the first time in 2021? Join us for a discussion of prostitution, capitalism, killer-pimps, the questionable hygiene of train sex, the weird energy of Tom Cruise, and the relative value of tacky decorative eggs.
Time of your life, huh, kid?
Program
0:00: Prologue: from Risky Business
00:59: Cultural Osmosis: Pre-Viewing Discussion
16:41: Original Trailer
18:01: The Verdict: Post-Viewing Discussion
54:55: Outro and Next Week's Movie
57:15: Outtake
Notes and Links
—Movie Reviewed: Risky Business (dir. Paul Brickman, Warner Bros., 1983)
—Links and Sources: "At 20, 'Risky' is still frisky," Dana Harris, Variety; "Risky Business director: 'Some people like the visibility. I don't,'" Jake Malooley, Salon; "Random Roles: Bronson Pinchot," Nathan Rabin, The AV Club; "My Wild Summer With Tom Cruise," Curtis Armstrong, Hollywood Reporter; Tom Cruise interviewed by Cameron Crowe, Interview Magazine; Reviews by Roger Ebert (rogerebert.com) and David Denby (New York Magazine).
—Find additional episodes, leave a comment, or make a donation to support the podcast at unaffiliatedcritic.com.
—Email us, or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. (Suggestions of movies to watch for future episodes are very welcome.)
—"Warm Duck Shuffle" by Arne Huseby is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:50 — 54.2MB)
