Peer to Peer Magazine

the quarterly magazine of ILTA 67 Peer to Peer and luck to navigate and survive all the other crises he encounters, including the lake-drowning of that prized Porsche, the theft of his Mother's expensive Steuben glass egg as well as assorted furniture, and the various threats and machinations of his partner-girlfriend and her "take-no-prisoners"-pimp Guido (Joe Pantoliano). But Joel does survive — even prosper. His parents return to learn he has been accepted by Princeton (thanks to a very grateful scout) and to find the house, lawn and most personal treasures in mint condition. Only a small crack in the crystal egg tarnishes the homecoming. At the end of the movie, Joel and Lana walk off into the night together. Will they part friends and return to their respective lives, or is more risky business ahead for them? As there was no RISKY BUSINESS II, we can only speculate. However, the 25th-anniversary edition includes both the upbeat studio ending and the director's original, more tentative and melancholic tone. (In the alternate or "bummer" ending, Joel is also accepted into Dartmouth College, and he ponders his future with Lana on a rooftop.) Besides making Tom Cruise a star, RISKY BUSINESS was a starting point for several other actors who went on to various careers both in film and television, including De Mornay ("The Hand That Rocks the Cradle"), Bronson Pinchot (Balki from TV's "Perfect Strangers"), Curtis Armstrong (Booger from the "Revenge of the Nerds" TV series), and, of course, Joe Pantoliano ("Sopranos" and many movies). No doubt about it, though. RISKY BUSINESS is Cruise's movie from the first frame. No matter how many other roles he's played, he may always be best remembered as a kid with a passion for Porsches and prostitutes and dancing to "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll" in a pink shirt, whitey-tighties and gym socks. And if you haven't seen this dandy little teenage odyssey for a while, cruise on over to Netflix and rent or stream it. Risky Business Trivia courtesy of IMBD.com Cruise was 21 when the movie was released. In an effort to make him look more like a teenager, he worked out seven days a week in order to lose 10 pounds. Once that had been accomplished, he then ate extremely fatty foods in order to add a layer of baby fat, thus achieving a "fresh-faced" teenage look. Timothy Hutton was the first choice for the role of Joel, but turned it down. Tom Hanks and Nicolas Cage auditioned. Sean Penn did a cameo as the man sitting in the passenger seat as Joel's friend takes the Porsche for a spin, a favor for director Paul Brickman. The scene in which Joel dances to "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll" was completely improvised. In the script, Tom Cruise was simply instructed to "dance to rock music." Annual sales of Ray-Ban Wayfarers sunglasses were languishing as of 1983 but skyrocketed 2000% after the movie's release. Kim Basinger was offered and turned down the role of Lana. She stated that "it was the biggest error of my life." The film score was by Tangerine Dream; their songs comprised nearly half the film soundtrack. Also included were songs by Muddy Waters, Prince, Jeff Beck, Journey, Phil Collins, and the song for which the film is best known, "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll" by Bob Seger. In 2006, the film was 40th on "Entertainment Weekly's" list of the 50 Best High School Movies, calling it a "sharp satire of privileged suburban teens" about the "soul-crushing pressure to be perfect." ILTA Joel (andy) spiegel is a marketing manager for a business software company based in austin, texas, and a freelance writer. an ardent movie watcher, he maintains a blog called "My Private screening Room," which spotlights movie reviews of films from the '30s to today. but for the "p" in his surname, he might have been the late Joel siegel, reviewing movies professionally rather than as a hobby. he can be reached at andy_spiegel@att.net.

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