My name is Joel Goodson. I deal in human fulfillment. I grossed over eight thousand dollars in one night. Time of your life, huh kid?

Title: Risky Business (1984)

The movie that made Tom Cruise into a superstar is now 25 years old.

In Risky Business, Joel Goodson (Tom Cruise) is a suburban teenager who was left behind by his parents to watch the house while they went on vacation for a week. So what's a teenage boy gonna do while he's alone? Naturally, he'll indulge in anything teenage boys will do - girls, parties, cars.

In Joel's case, he called hookers to come over. After screening out a few candidates, the beautiful Lana (Rebecca De Mornay) showed up and Joel's world spun out of control. From then on, "Risky Business" craftily drew us into intricate events that began when Joel was short of the $300 that Lana charged him for the night.

With all the events that occurred, did any of you wonder how Joel kept a straight face at the end when his parents came back from vacation and asked him how things went?

The movie also established the relatively unknown casts into 80s and 90s mainstream. Curtis Armstrong (linking actor from Revenge of the Nerds) went on to become a popular character actor. Bronson Pinchot went on to star in his own TV sitcom, Perfect Strangers. Rebecca De Mornay became an A-list actress throughout the 80's. And Joe Pantoliano, already acting for close to a decade, continued his success in Hollywood.

Also, Bob Seger's Old Time Rock n Roll has been known as the Risky Business song ever since (see video).

And the Risky Business sunglasses became a fashion standard...even today.

Perhaps the reason why "Risky Business" stood out from other 80's teen romp movies is that it's a lot more than just teens romping around. Joel and his friends faced extra ordinary circumstances requiring extra ordinary patience and stroke of luck to survive. There was something poetic about how Joel presented his week-long plight. Maybe it's the narrations by Tom Cruise that were carefully placed.

Memorable Risky Business quotes

"Say 'what the fuck.'... If you can't say it, you can't do it."

"My name is Joel Goodson. I deal in human fulfillment. I grossed over eight thousand dollars in one night. Time of your life, huh kid? "

"Looks like University of Illinois!"

"I don't believe this! I've got a trig midterm tomorrow, and I'm being chased by Guido the killer pimp. " -- Miles while riding in the back seat of Joel's Porsche 928.