Risky Business (Paul Brickman, 1983)

by Elena Lazic

I don’t think that a teen film which does not begin to enact its basic concept and selling point (here, a kid setting up a brothel in his parents’ house) until an hour in could be made today. But even more inconceivable to me is the idea that a crowd-pleasing, mainstream, entertaining movie, which largely revolves around and delivers simple pleasures (for the characters, sex, and for us, a bonkers sex comedy), could suddenly pivot to soul-crushing existential sadness in its final 10 minutes. I doubt any studios would allow it now, and I don’t think the producers at the time even really understood the ending of Risky Business. Although they forced writer/director Paul Brickman to change it, Joel (Tom Cruise)’s realisation that money will not make him happy is intact in the theatrical cut, only less obvious than it is in the director’s version.