Cocktail Sale
Buy Cocktail. Tom Cruise is electrifying as Brian Flanagan, a young, confident, and ambitious bartender who, with the help of a seasoned pro (Bryan Brown -- GORILLAS IN THE MIST, F/X 2), becomes the toast of Manhattan's Upper East Side. But when he moves to Jamaica and meets an independent artist (Elisabeth Shue -- ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING, HOLLOW MAN), their vivid romance brings a new perspective to the self-centered bartender's life. Sizzling with high-powered performances and a #1 hit soundtrack, the box office blockbuster COCKTAIL has it all!
This 1988 effort at creating a milestone coming-of-age story with the impact of The Graduate is commendable, but the results are mostly shaky and garish. Tom Cruise plays an ambitious young man who arrives in New York City and becomes known as a flashy bartender in a hot club. After falling for Elisabeth Shue's girl-next-door character, however, his desire for success causes him to travel down a more selfish path with an older woman. The film, directed by Roger Donaldson (Bounty), is built on entirely on appearances (Cruise's star charisma) and flash (the way Cruise and his character's bartending mentor, played by Bryan Brown, toss bottles of booze around). The more interesting and underlying themes, however, particularly the hero's obvious Oedipal dilemmas, are lost beneath this window dressing, as if everyone involved was afraid to commit to the story's intrinsic value. Cruise fans might want to take a look at this, but otherwise there isn't much to recommend it. --Tom Keogh
Cocktail Review
My boyfriend really wanted to rent this movie, but we could not find it anywhere-- so I went ahead and bought a copy here on amazon. I didn't know what to expect, my boyfriend was a 'flare' bar-tender while in college (he does those amazing stunts while making drinks).
Anyhoo. I can typically figure out the plot, the intended morals of the film- and most all the corporate sponsors of a film in about 15 mins of the start. This one was much more difficult-- it portrayed the way, I am sure many, 20-somethings feel when getting into the 'real world'. What to do with your life, how to get there. The lead character starts down one avenue, the military where we begin the movie. Then he goes to the big city imagining life at the top only to realize he will need some more education to get there. Gets into school, but needed employment. He stumbles into a bar where he learns very quickly the skills of the trade. Sleep deprivation and his own idealism screw him over in college.
So the character still has a goal of getting to the top and creates another idealized plan for getting there without a degree. His partner betrays him as a way to teach him a lesson about love *cruel, but... you'll see* So the hero of the story continues his plan for success alone. Life is great, if not lonely. He meets a girl. *awhhh*
The cruel partner shows up again... but he's a gold digger now! And gets the hero into trouble again... *hearts get broken*
Plot shift again... totally new lifestyle, but the hero remains faithful to his plan of getting to the top (very '80's movie). But more heartbreak, a death and a few fist fights later he learns lessons about money, love and friendship... *cue cheesy music* the things that really matter in life.
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SPOILER ALERT!!!!
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Over all the movie was fine, but if you think deeper than the average movie viewer you will note that they sugar coat the true economic hardships of living in the city as a student; and completely ignore the issue of alcoholism as a disease. You will get annoyed by the fact that the partner of the hero can always manipulate the hero by 'betting' with him. And unplanned pregnancy is completely glossed over as something that happens with no options available to the woman... and the man is not expected to participate-- or even be aware-- of the pregnancy or the child. However because he does want to be in the woman's life he is a hero, and of course just because they spent a few sweaty nights having unprotected sex on a beach they will have a satisfying marriage in the city... regardless of the fact that he is a bartender/owner of a dingy bar, regardless of the fact that this woman was the daughter of multi-millionaires who was disowned because she stayed with the Hero of the story. Not to mention that they are expecting twins... and that she hangs out while pregnant in a smoky bar (but hey it was the '80s).
I realize that I was born in '84, and I don't entirely understand the ethics of the decade-- but there is so much more to being successful in life than being idealistic. However I imagine it did help him that he was attractive, white and male... I would love to see a sequel to this film:
-- The Hero of the film becomes absent, alcoholic husband/father, bitter because he's too old and too tired to keep up the fantasy that he'll 'make it one day'.
--- The beautiful love interest, now overweight, depressed and resentful of the man that got her knocked up in the first place, then got her disowned by her rich family; and of the children that made her loose her figure.
-- Plot twist involving low-income housing, AA, Jenny Craig, child protective services, welfare and food stamps... maybe an extra-marital affair! Oh the possibilities are endless.
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