The dream is always the same.

Risky Business

I recently went through Risky Business overload, having to write a five page (single-spaced) paper on its structure. But all this work made me love and appreciate Risky Business so much more. The 1987 film about a naive high school virgin turned pimp extraordinaire is an interesting look at business and stars Tom Cruise when he was good Tom Cruise...Tom Cruise at his finest.

Tom Cruise isn't jumping off couches in Risky Business, just dancing around in his underwear to Bob Seger. He's very believable as Joel, a guy who just wants to get into college and get laid. He's got the boyish innocence and politeness that can be associated with that age and position, learned mostly from having such strict parents. One of my favorite Joel moments is when he's sitting down to dinner and sucks on the icy Salisbury steak from his TV dinner and pours himself a whiskey and Coke, not knowing the proper proportions. Hilarious.

The controlling idea of Risky Business is quite extraordinary: corrupted youth will become the future leaders of America. The film ends with Joel learning he's going to get an incredibly high recommendation from a Princeton alumnus, Rutherford; he's basically already in. He may take everything he's learned as a pimp and put it to use in his studies and future business endeavors. The film is saying the future leaders of big business are pimps and that customers are the prostitutes. Perhaps Joel went on to work for Lehman Brothers, AIG or other investment firms that profited from ill-gotten gains. Cruise's boyish innocence portrayal makes the controlling idea that much sadder, that this kid could go on to contribute to the fall of our economy. But the film can be interpreted as ending on a hopeful and uplifting note. So maybe Joel will not become a future business pimp. We just don't know.

The soundtrack is phenomenal. Very 80s, but very dreamlike and hazy. Tangerine Dream creates a foggy daze around the audience with their music, much like Joel must be feeling at times. He probably can't believe he's been doing the things he's been doing, that all these things keep happening to him. He may feel like he's living in a dream and the music definitely enhances that feeling.

There's something incredibly special about teen films from the 1980's. People can connect with at least one of the iconic teen characters, whether it's Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink or Anthony Michael Hall in The Breakfast Club; they speak to us. Whether it's a desire to make a connection or stop feeling lost or stuck, 80s teen characters had such a profound amount of heart. It's hard to articulate, but I have a serious soft spot for 80s teen characters, Joel included.

Ben Mendelsohn in Animal Kingdom

What an emotional, terrifying, roller coaster ride of a movie! The Australians certainly know how bring the tension. While all the hype is around Jacki Weaver as the matriarch of a crime family, she didn't do it for me as much as Ben Mendelsohn, the quiet yet completely unstable oldest son. Weaver was fantastic, but she didn't show her true colors until towards the end; I was scared of Mendelsohn the entire time. He's very quiet, reserved and controlled, even when he kills someone. You never see him coming. He hides behind a facade of caring about his family, but is really just out for himself. Never has hearing someone say, "I just want you to talk to me. You can tell me everything, I just want to know," been so scary. He's chilling.

Netflix

Away from Her-Supposed to be a brutal and honest look at a devastating disease.
You Don't Know Jack-Definitely wanted to see this HBO film.
Fright Night-Netflix Instant. Talked about this in my vampires in film and television class.