Joel Goodson is pushing 50 now, probably a suburban dad wrestling with kids and lawncare woes and holding only fading memories of the night he was chased by Guido, the Killer Pimp. But maybe sometimes he still takes those old records off the shelf to sit and listen to 'em by himself. Dancing in his underwear, of course.
"Risky Business" hit theaters 30 years ago Monday, and turned Tom Cruise from that cute face viewers had seen in "Taps" and "Endless Love" and into a Ray Ban-wearing, toothy grin-sporting young movie star on his way up.
Cruise's image has had its ups and downs since then, thanks to his couch-jumping and other antics, but "Risky Business" lives on as a perfect slice of 1980s cinema. Entertainment Weekly included it on the magazine's list of the top 50 high-school movies, and it did wonders for sales of Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses as well as Bob Seger's 1978 song "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll." It also taught a generation of aspiring status-climbers to covet Porsches because, in Joel's words, "there is no substitute."
But the film did more than that. It's one of the 1980s' most iconic films, predating John Hughes' high-school movie run of "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," and "Pretty in Pink." It features one of the sexiest scenes of its day, where Cruise's character and Rebecca DeMornay get hot and heavy on Chicago's El. (The romantic action may have seemed especially realistic because Cruise and DeMornay were interested in each other in real life, and started dating after the film came out.) And the film's oh-so-quotable dialogue is forever inscribed in a generation's minds -- and sometimes, under their senior yearbook photos.
Here are some of our favorite quotes from that infamous night in Chicago three decades ago:
1. Mrs. Goodson in Joel's dream: "Please, Joel, do what they say, just get off the babysitter."
2. Joel to his friends: "Doesn't anyone want to accomplish anything, or do we just wanna make money?"
Friends: "Make money." "Make a lotta money."
2. Joel in his Princeton interview: "Sometimes you just have to say, 'What the (expletive)?' "
3. Lana, after Joel's Princeton interview: "So how are we doing?"
Joel: "Looks like University of Illinois!"
4. Joel's dad: "I don't remember giving permission for a party, Joel."
5. Joel's pal Miles: "I don't believe this! I've got a trig midterm tomorrow, and I'm being chased by Guido the Killer Pimp."
6. Joel: "Porsche. There is no substitute."
7. Auto-repair shop guy, after Joel's dad's Porsche is pulled out of Lake Michigan: "Who's the U-Boat commander?"
8. Miles to Joel after the car sinks: "You OK? Do you want an aspirin? Your dad own a gun?"