Risky Business

Published April 25, 2026

Film info

Title Risky Business
Director Paul Brickman
Year 1983
Run time 1hr 38m
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romance
Tagline There's a time for playing it safe and a time for risky business

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.

Live blog

Time	Comment
4:20	I know it’s just a dream but he went into the shower with his clothes and shoes on.
6:58	“Every now and then, say ‘what the fuck.’”
11:09	Yay classic scene in context!
14:56	What if you get a third memo come in?
24:19	“Get off the babysitter.”
33:30	Miles really is the worst friend ever.
40:00	Little ad for the Porsche there.
44:39	Yay Tom Cruise running.
54:37	He just threw away half the ice cream.
58:55	OMG the car.
1:04:26	How did he know where they were?
1:15:56	Excellent model railway.
1:28:58	Meanwhile, Barry is a GREAT friend.

Thoughts

This is such a slow-starting film, it almost fell foul of the twenty-minute rule. If it wasn’t for baby Tom Cruise being such an adorable creature and the occasional laugh, I might not have carried on. Glad I did though as it really picked up and by the end was absolutely brilliant. It’s a bit scatty - I’m not sure how he didn’t get ripped off more, letting random people stay in his house alone, and I’m not clear on how long the parents were away for but there’s no way you could fix the car or put the house back together in the time allowed. But it’s great, it’s fun, you can see the glint of superstardom in Tom Cruise already and Rebecca De Mornay, who I didn’t know, is very watchable. And now I’ve seen the classic scene as well.

Rating: 4 / 5