Erotic Films: Risky Business, dir. Paul Brickman

The Wiz RECOMMENDS Risky Business Enjoyment of Risky Business will be entirely based on the answer to this one question: Do you like teen sex comedies? If yes, enjoy. It's considered one of the godfathers of the genre. If the answer is either "I'm kind of too old to watch these" or "no", then don't bother. It is, very simply, a teen sex comedy. The nuts and bolts is this: Risky Business is a movie that has had elements from the movie that were either repurposed or downright stolen in other films. Some examples like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Van Wilder, American Pie, The Girl Next Door and others owe a lot to this film and its success for it's creation. But as true as that is, it also shares its tropes and conventions. The main character is sheltered and thrusted into a world he has no comprehension of but learns to adapt to succeed. There's an outside element that is threatening and dangerous...but not that dangerous. He has wacky, horny friends. But there are really two things in the film that stick out: the excellent soundtrack by Tangerine Dream and Rebecca De Mornay's performance. The soundtrack fits incredibly well with the visual style of the film, especially in it's darker scenes in both setting and mood. De Mornay's performance as Lana is charismatic and enjoyable on many fronts. Her girl next door look and streetwise intelligence is highly believable in this film and she's a constant highlight in the film. To be frank though, Risky Business is simply a good one of those: a funny, if unremarkable, teen sex comedy. It certainly is enjoyable in spots, but it's not something that compares to such peerless classics as Dazed and Confused and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. It's a film to have maximum enjoyment, you essentially have to adopt the credo of the main character and say "ahh f*** ir!" when the film goes into its less interesting parts.