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15 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cruising to an eighties classic....., 25 Mar 2002
By A Customer
Big hair, bigger teeth, neon lights, greed, romance, loyalty, betrayal, New York to Jamaica and back again, sex on the beach and schnapps made from peach.....oh and Robert Palmer. Welcome to the wonderful wet look Wella world of Cocktail. Gloriously reproduced on DVD this is a great slice of eighties, with the Cruiser in one of his most famous roles. The story is not a complicated one, college boy goes to the big city to try and 'make it', fails, get sidetracked with bar job while trying to 'make it' in the big city, meets father figure he never had mentor, gets betrayed, falls in love, betrays, is left with moral dilemma's and has to re-evaluate his philosophy on life in general. Its plot is slightly underrated, it tries taking on many genres, coming of age, love story, buddy movie, and gives you just enough of each to keep the film steady and varied, also it is overshadowed by the casting. At the time Cruise was box office dynamite, so the point of the story is kind of glossed over in favour of a viechel for him. This is typical of laziness on the part of studios as they know the film will make money on the back of the name on the poster. Elizabeth Shue (as the love interest Jordan Mooney) although relatively unknown then has proved what a great actress she is (see Leaving Las Vegas). On reflection now it is a bit dated, but its the trademark performances and nostalgia that make it classic viewing. Cruise, as Brian Flanagan the New Jersey college boy, puts in a staple turn, grinning his way through a large portion of the film. Shue is convincing enough as Jordan, the troubled young artist who falls for the Cruiser, but it really Bryan Brown who steals the show as the rouge bartender Doug Coughlin. He really breathes life into the character and gives the film an amusing, richer edge that otherwise leave proceedings a bit stale. He's helped slightly with the script which gives him some great lines ("The bartender, is the aristocrat of the working class" is one of my favourites) and, to be fair, a more interesting and rounded character than Cruise. You can tell he had a ball playing it. Pair that with Cruises' naive Flannagan and you have a great duo who complement each other well. Even physically, the slightly crumpled older wiser Brown in direct contrast with the young clean cut youthful Cruise. Anyone who's rolled up their shirt sleeves and thrown mixers (unsuccessfully) around a bar will have a soft spot for this film, as well as making you want to be a 'bartender' when you grew up! You don't have to think too hard while watching it, just sit back and enjoy, slightly cheesy but, hey, that's the eighties for you. I don't think anyone involved with the film was under any delusions that they were going to win an Oscar for their efforts but it still stands as good Saturday night in fare that is watchable again and again. Pappa Phil.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A dash of cheese, a slice of Cruise, and you've got a classic Cocktail!, 8 Dec 2009
What do 'Cocktail' and 'Top Gun' have in common? They both feature the hopeless romantic Tom Cruise in some kind of Military guise. And both are prone to Cruise flexing his chest rather suggestively.
However this time round, 'Cocktail', we see our sharp shooter 'Brian', none less (or not so sharp - Ice Man won afterall...) packaging his bags and hitching a coach trip in the middle of a highway so that he make a buck or two in New York. Just 2 minutes into the film and already you're wondering why he bothered leaving the barracks...
One can only presume he is frustrated with life in the Forces. He's a young man whose ambition it is to waltz into all the largest companies in New York and find a job based on the fact he's a quick learner. Rejected from every company, he slowly begins to fathom that you need "qualifications" (that took some learning, too) in order to access a high-paid job in the real world. I'm guessing his brains moved into his biceps during 'Top Gun'.
Low and behold, he swallows his pride and takes a night shift a local bar, discovering that the hectic nature of making cocktails and hearing customers is not for the faint hearted. Yet despite a rough time, he befriends the bar manager who has another highly original name, ('Doug'), and is given the job, leading to a miraculous set of bottle-juggling skills learnt in a matter of days. The irony though is that although his first night was busy and he couldn't keep up with orders, he spends every following night ignoring the customers, dancing badly, and throwing bottles around like a baboon. One might say we have witnessed the early signs of his Scientological demeanour ?
But oh boy, things get better. He enrolls into College with a mystical sum of cash and begins to learn the trade of Business Studies. Meanwhile, he and Doug find a new bar to serve in where they are surrounded by about 2000 people each night. It had to happen at some point - Cruise soon uses his antartic-white teeth to seduce a young lady over the counter. The result is a set of intimate activities performed until the following morning, and its fair to say she wasn't let down by his efforts (ones that he practiced on with Flight Lieutenant 'Charlie'). Yet just a week later and he's already been duped by his supposed friend Doug and his wandering tongue. Time for a pun... He really 'doug' himself into this mess!
Angry and dejected, Brian jets off to Jamaica where he builds his own little bar and enjoys the beautiful life on offer, thanks to everything he "learnt from College" (for which most of the time he was asleep). He also begins his quest for a new lover - one which he can be proud of, to say the least. One afternoon, just a matter of hours after giving his cheeky grin...
...and yes, you guessed it. Only this time, he satisfies a lovely young girl who I'm sure could do much better than 'Brian'.
Forgive me for leaving you on a cliffhanger, but Doug does miraculously turn up at the bar, and the film continues in its heart-breaking/drunken/romance-under-the-waterfall (a la' Peter Andre + a certain music video) fashion. And yet, I feel Cocktail deserves 4 Stars? Of course it does! It's a document of the 80's - a time when you could get away with little Saxophone and Electric Guitar stabs every time Cruise looked frustrated. The impossible becomes possible. Romance is portrayed in an overly post-modern format. And no-one cares if snazzy one liners or badly fitting shirts are in the picture - its become the epitome of 'coolness' due to the freedom of idea and boundaries of what is impossible becoming a reality. We all know its impossible to become New Yorks finest cocktail waiter in a matter of days, but its nice to know that the dream is portrayed for our viewing pleasure, and is done so by Cruise with reasonable acting skills and a, certain, over-enthusiasm; hence the standing on the counter and behaving like a dangerous lunatic.
Of course, we simply cannot take these films literally, otherwise there would be more mind boggling conundrums than time travelling in Back To The Future. Instead, you just have to disengage your brain and enjoy this fun mix of spirits on offer. And the sooner I quit thinking of booze related puns, the better!
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cruise back to the 80s..., 18 Dec 2000
By A Customer
A surprisingly watchable bubblegum drama charting the fortunes an enthusiastic young Wall Street hopeful who soon finds that his true talents lie behind 'three feet of mahogany'. Tom Cruise plays Brian Flannigan, who's dreams of success in New York lead him to dazzling heights of the cocktail bar circuit. Considering 'Cocktail' was merely a vehicle in which Cruise could strut his stuff after the success 'Top Gun', this movie is actually very entertaining. Brian Brown is superb as the fountain of bar-room wisdom who tempts Flannigan into the business, and Elizabeth Shue is stunning in a movie that can actually be watched time and time again.
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