Risky Business

"There's a time for playing it safe and a time for Risky Business."

1983 1h 38m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

🔥

93%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★6.6TMDB · 1,540🍅93%Rotten Tomatoes●75Metacritic★6.8IMDB · 105,372

RomanceComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“There's a time for playing it safe and a time for Risky Business.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Tom Cruise
Joel Goodson
Rebecca De Mornay
Lana
Joe Pantoliano
Guido
Richard Masur
Rutherford
Bronson Pinchot
Barry
Curtis Armstrong
Miles Dalby
Nicholas Pryor
Joel's Father
Janet Carroll
Joel's Mother

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Paul Brickman
Writers: Paul Brickman
Languages: German, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $64M — a 10.2× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

43 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Paul Brickman, shot by Bruce Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Johannes Schmölling. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Richard Chew shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay and Joe Pantoliano carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "There's a time for playing it safe and a time for Risky Business.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Paul Brickman directs. Bruce Surtees behind the camera. Johannes Schmölling scores. Richard Chew cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in German, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $64M — a 10.2× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
243 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, English.
4Directed by Paul Brickman, shot by Bruce Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Johannes Schmölling. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Richard Chew shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay and Joe Pantoliano carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "There's a time for playing it safe and a time for Risky Business.".
9IMDB entry: tt0086200 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Bruce Surtees
Original score: Johannes Schmölling
Editing: Richard Chew
Production design: William J. Cassidy
Costume design: Robert De Mora
Makeup / hair: Lillian Toth
Sound: Gregg Rudloff
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $6,200,000
Box office: $63,541,777
Return: 1025% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Risky Business (1983)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 75/100
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 105,372 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

3 nominations total

Also by

Paul Brickman

Men Don't Leave
1990 · ★ 6.3

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2018-12-11
★ 5/10
Entertaining teen comedy with Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay, but disturbingly dishonest “Risky Business” (1983) stars Tom Cruise as a preppy teen from the Chicago suburbs. When his parents leave for a trip, he has the house to himself and enlists the services of a call girl (Rebecca De Mornay), which leads to serious and amusing problems. This is the film with the iconic sequence of Cruise lip-syncing in private to Bob Seger’s "Old Time Rock and Roll." We’ve all done it. In any case, “Risky Business” is similar to “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986), but with the artiness of “Less than Zero” (1987) minus the melancholy. As far as all-around entertainment goes, this is an easy 7/10, but I have to lower my grade due to the glorification of prostitution. Yes, I realize it’s a teen comedy and you have to roll with it to enjoy it, which I did and did. But the portrayal of prostitution & prostitutes is strictly fantasyland and I find it disingenuous and irresponsible. Would all these guys seriously be so hot for these women who have sex with several strangers every work day? Am I the only one who finds this gross? Wouldn’t at least some of them be concerned about STDs? Wouldn’t the loose lifestyle of prostitution negatively affect the women, psychologically and spiritually? Wouldn’t there be signs of “wear and tear”? Of course none of these types of realities are addressed. The film runs 1 hour, 39 minutes and was shot in Highland Park, Illinois, & the Chicago area. GRADE: C

Production companies