Would The Script of Risky Business Ever Begin Development in the 21 Century?

Whenever I look at my "feed" on social media, I almost always see one movie scene in particular being shared. This widely known scene is that of 21 year old Tom Cruise in his underwear singing and dancing to Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll". Although I was getting increasingly annoyed by watching the scene countless times, I started to find myself curious about its origin. I showed my father the scene and he told me right away that it was from the well known 1983 movie Risky Business. As someone who loves movies, I was confused that I had not watched a well known 1980's movie starring young Tom Cruise. I looked up Risky Business on Google and found it to have a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. Then, I carved out some free time in the afternoon to watch the movie.

After watching Risky Business, I began to contemplate why the film held such a high rating. Yes... Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay are great in the film, but the overall theme is very raunchy. Cruise is essentially holding a brothel in his house to pay for a multitude of damages to his estate including his father's Porche. Although funny at times, I believe this overlying theme is simply too vulgar. Although there are films such as The Girl Next Door and American Pie which were released closer to the turn of the century, movies similar to Risky Business are definitely decreasing in numbers. This might be due to different values we hold ourselves to in the modern decade. For example, Cruise is near the end of his senior year in high school and is out smoking cigarettes and cigars with friends. This is an action that would be significantly condemned in 2020.

Overall, watching Risky Business was an interesting experience due to its unique, 1980's centered theme.

-Seth Greenberg