Risky Business

Risky Business, 1983, directed by American filmmaker Paul Brickman

Joel Goodson (Tom Cruise) is an average high school student from the north shore of Chicago whose parents leave town for the first time leaving him in charge of the house. At the encouragement of his best friend Miles (Curtis Armstrong), Joel raids the liquor cabinet, joyrides is father’s Porsche and has an encounter with a call girl, Lana (Rebecca De Mornay). After Lana leaves her manager, Guido (Joe Pantoliano) and Joel accidentally drives his father’s car into Lake Michigan, they both join forces to turn his suburban home in to a bordello for one night, hosting all of Joel’s acquaintances and friends.

This debut feature by director Paul Brickman resembles a teen film masked in satire and fantasy. Like The Graduate before it, Risky Business contemplates teenage expectation, coming of age and the anxieties that come with love, lust and life. With a soundtrack by Tangerine Dream and cinematography by Bruce Surtees, Brickman creates a mood and atmosphere where dreams become reality when individuals are pushed to make them so. Shot on location in Chicago, Illinois, Risky Business features songs by Phil Collins, Prince, Muddy Waters and of course, Bob Seger.