GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

DVD and Video

Upcoming Release Calendar
Awards & Bests By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

 



 

Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Risky Business
Warner Bros. Pictures

Risky Business reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 75 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
5.3 out of 10
based on 8 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R

Starring Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, Joe Pantoliano, Richard Masur, and Bronson Pinchot

A high school senior is tired of being Mr. All-American and facing such traumatic decisions as which Ivy League college to attend. His life gets turned around when he meets a sexy call girl who transforms his house into a brothel while his parents are away. (Warner Bros.)


GENRE(S): Action  |  Comedy  |  Crime  |  Drama  
WRITTEN BY: Paul Brickman  
DIRECTED BY: Paul Brickman  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: August 20, 1987 
Theatrical: August 5, 1983 
RUNNING TIME: 98 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical (Tom Cruise).

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
The very best thing about the movie is its dialogue. Paul Brickman, who wrote and directed, has an ear so good that he knows what to leave out.
Read Full Review
90
Chicago Reader Dave Kehr
Taking off from the format of a typical teenage sex comedy, Brickman deepens the characters and tightens the situations, filming them in a dark, dreamlike style full of sinuous camera movements and surrealistic insinuations. Brickman found a tone I hadn't encountered previously - one of haunting, lyrical satire.
Read Full Review
88
TV Guide Staff (Not Credited)
Smart, stylish, and cynical about the values of its time, this movie aspires to be The Graduate for its generation and it comes pretty close.
Read Full Review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jay Scott
An adolescent-oriented farce so finely tuned it projects beyond its narrow intended audience - it's not only for adolescents, it's for anyone who remembers what adolescence was like. [05 Aug 1983]
70
Variety Staff (Not Credited)
Risky Business is like a promising first novel, with all the pros and cons that come with that territory.
Read Full Review
63
Boston Globe Jay Carr
Risky Business is the sleeper of the summer. It's a refreshing change from the usual dumb teenage ripoffs, the slickest American film since "Trading Places" and "War Games," and a strong directorial debut for Paul Brickman, who knows his way around teen fantasies. [05 Aug 1983]
60
The New York Times Janet Maslin
Risky Business improves as it goes along.
Read Full Review
60
Empire Ian Nathan
It’s "Ferris Bueller" with an existential crisis. Very funny and very weird.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 5.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jay H. gave it a7:
Clever plot, and in spite of Tom Cruise being in it, it's a good movie. Nice performances. Funny, well written and directed with style. Good flick.

Discuss this movie in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: iPhone 3G | Fantasy Football | Moneywatch | Antivirus Software | Recipes | E3 2009

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use