On the outside, Joel Goodsen (Tom Cruise) looks like your typical overachiever. However, things aren't that rosey on the inside; both the expectations of his parents and the pressures of getting into a Ivy League college are mounting, causing him to become an uptight, nervous wreck. When his parents leave for a few weeks, Joel decides to spend the night with a prostitute, Lana (Rebecca Demornay), but gets more than what he asked for.
Compared to other teen comedies, Risky Business takes a more highbrow route, sometimes causing it to feel like a drama more than a comedy. Most of the comedic elements grow out of the awkward absurdity of Joel's situation. What starts as a one-night stand eventually grows into a major problem; Lana's pimp Guido (Joe Pantoliano) begins harass Joel for stealing his girls, Joel sinks his father's Porsche into the lake and his mother's prized possession, an expensive glass egg, is missing.
It would be easy for Risky Business to quickly spiral out of control and use sexual situations to get an easy rise out of the audience. However, the movie manages to remain smart throughout, which is testament to both the great script and actors. Based on his performance, it is easy to see why Tom Cruise rocketed to stardom. There aren't many actors to can make a pimp into a sympathetic character, but Cruise manages to do just that.
The highlight of the entire extras package is the picture-in-picture commentary from director Paul Brickman, producer Jon Avnet and Tom Cruise. I know he gets a bad rap, but listening to Tom Cruise discuss his early career is cool and really interesting. The only other extra worth watching is the alternate ending, especially since it is Paul Brickman's preferred ending. The ending gives the entire movie a slightly darker edge -- which works or doesn't depending on how you want to read the movie and character. I liked it, but I'll leave that up for you to decide.
The Retrospective is another worthwhile extra. The feature comes off as a bit of a fluff piece, and only scratches the surface as far as the movie's impact is concerned. Still, it is well produced and nearly all of the original cast participates.
The original DVD release was a bit of a bust, so it's nice to see the Blu-ray release get a little more attention. Regardless of what you might think of Tom Cruise or teen comedies, Risky Business: 25th Anniversary Edition is worth checking out.
