Films for recession - Part 4: Risky Business

Risky Business (1983)

Well, the long awaited G20 summit in London has come and gone. The red carpet outside Downing Street has been removed, President Obama is in Turkey telling them that he supports their accession to the European Union (and that America is not against Islam), and the news just keeps on churning out the analysis. Like the endless Friends re-runs on TV, and in the words of the great Pierre Bourdieu, the news will continue to comment, re-comment, analyse and re-analyse that which has come and gone. Considering I still watch the Friends re-runs, I'm not in a position to criticise.

All this talk of money however, wherever it's actually going, (the IMF, stimulus packages, MP's second home allowances) has got me thinking about the all mighty buck in relation to the big screen. Those movies where the pursuit of that all important cash prize is what drives the pace forward and sucks us in like the money hungry monsters we are (I speak for myself). Yes, I suppose last years Slumdog Millionaire did reinvigorate this sub-sub-genre with some aplomb, but what about those other greats? Those flicks where our plucky protagonists create money from diddley squat; in this economic climate its about time we started watching and taking notes.

Yes there is the Michael Douglas classic Wall Street, a film that made us all aware of the dangers (and impeccable dress sense) of hedge fund managers, as if we needed any further reminding right now. It's certainly a risky business, and talking of risky business (excuse the seguey)wasnt that the title of the film that launched the career of Tom Cruise? Now if there's a movie about getting yourself into deep mud, and finding a way to climb out of it (with a little help from your friends)this is surely it. When good mannered high school student Joel Gooodson's (Cruise) parents go away for the weekend, he is persuaded by close friend Miles (Curtis Armstrong) to stop worrying about his Ivy league future and have a little fun.

When the boys decide to call a prostitute, they get far more than what they bargained for when a transvestite named Jackie appears at the door. After the confusion has passed, good natured Jackie gives Joel the number of a girl that he assures Joel he will really like. Enter Rebecca De Mornay's Lana, who gives Joel everything that he's ever dreamed of, and then asks for $300 in return. Before Joel has a chance to pay her back however, Lana leaves, taking with her the Goodson family's priceless Steuben Glass egg. Add to the mix a wrecked Porshe, an angry pimp (played by long time scene stealer Joe Pantoliano) and an ingenious idea for making some desperately needed money, this is truly one to savour.

Cruise's character proves that with a little determination, a whole host of problems (including one very irritated Princeton rep) can be solved. This is undoubtedly one for the ages, and has somehow never quite seemed so pertinent.