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‘Risky Business’ With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan

March 12, 2024 · Risky Business (1983) · Comedy · Crime · Drama · 1:48:29

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Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 17:37Rebecca De Mornay had never been in a movie before this but got the role because she was Harry Dean Stanton's girlfriend
Chris Ryan▶ 17:43This trivia about Rebecca De Mornay and Harry Dean Stanton is the only piece of half-assed internet research you ever need to know

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 33:57The poker game and first 10 minutes including the 'what the fuck' speech between Miles and Joel outside
Chris Ryan▶ 33:40The first 10 minutes including the credit sequence, the dream, and the poker game

Den of Thieves Benihana Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:01:39The Drake hotel in Chicago, specifically the scene where they get hot chocolate
Chris Ryan▶ 1:01:51Lake Michigan as the backdrop

Great Shot Gordo Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:02:02The shot from Joel's perspective when he's about to drop his parents off at the airport and realizes something's wrong with too much space
Chris Ryan▶ 1:02:16Joel calling Lana for the first time while putting on the catcher's mask with cash register checks flashing in the background

Butch's Girlfriend Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:04:07The scene where they move all the furniture back in the house too quickly before the parents return
Chris Ryan▶ 1:04:26The scene where they move all the furniture back in the house too quickly before the parents return

Big Kahuna Burger Award

Chris Ryan▶ 1:05:16The scene where the teenage kids drink brandy with dinner when parents are gone

What's Aged the Worst

Bill Simmons▶ 1:07:08Future enterprisers - the goal of getting rich that the movie promotes, which has become what society values through Instagram and social media

Is There a Better Title?

Bill Simmons▶ 1:08:38White Boys Off the Lake (the original script title) is a better title 40 years later
Chris Ryan▶ 1:08:32No, Risky Business is good and you can't top it

Best Quote

Bill Simmons▶ 1:09:23what the fuck if you can't say you can't do

Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:10:39Joel Goodson is the second best Tom Cruise role ever, after Jerry Maguire but ahead of Top Gun's Pete Mitchell and Ethan Hunt
Chris Ryan▶ 1:09:29Risky Business is the prequel to Eyes Wide Shut - the character Joel could have grown up to be Tom Cruise's character in Eyes Wide Shut

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 1:21:17Paul Brickman — Discusses multiple apex mountains including Cruise (not apex), Brickman (high for 80s teen movies, picks this over Fast Times), Porsche marketing influence, and various other topics
Chris Ryan▶ 1:21:21Say Anything — Suggests Say Anything as potential apex mountain for teen movies, discusses Chicago suburb movies, Rebecca De Mornay (notes The Hand That Rocks the Cradle was bigger), and various other apex mountain topics

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:26:14Joel is a virgin at the beginning of the movie and might have prepared by masturbating before Lana arrived
Chris Ryan▶ 1:27:18A mechanic getting a car out of Lake Michigan and fully repairing it within the timeframe of parents being gone is highly unlikely

Picking Nits

Bill Simmons▶ 1:27:57Multiple nits: Guido couldn't catch Joel in car chase, Miles' confusing party scene dialogue, neighbors would definitely tell Joel's parents about the party and yard sale, Joel's Princeton scores (1090 SAT, 3.1 GPA) are inconceivably low for admission, and the party math doesn't add up - 80 transactions with 12 workers means 6+ encounters each
Chris Ryan▶ 1:28:34Agrees with Bill's nits and adds that Joel has no extracurriculars like sports, the party numbers seem high like 'farmer's market' busy, and suggests Lana might be skimming money from the operation

Sequel/Prequel/Limited Series/Remake

Bill Simmons▶ 1:35:03Risky Business sequel with Joel now in his 60s retiring at a party where Lana shows up, or Joel's son living out 21st century version with Ben Simmons remaking it
Chris Ryan▶ 1:34:49Prequel showing Joel in college at Princeton where Lana shows up, or sequel with Joel's son (possibly Lana's kid) living out the 21st century version of Risky Business

Is This Movie Better With

Bill Simmons▶ 1:36:23Loved Wayne Jenkins and thought Byron Mayo would have been great in a scene with Joel and Jackie
Chris Ryan▶ 1:35:48Philip Baker Hall — Philip Baker Hall as the Princeton admissions interviewer/Rutherford, and Wayne Jenkins with extensive impersonation dialogue

Just One Oscar

Bill Simmons▶ 1:36:58Paul Brickman — Brickman for the screenplay, with Tangerine Dream for soundtrack as alternative

Best Double Feature

Bill Simmons▶ 1:39:23All the Right Moves — Eyes Wide Shut as a fun pairing, but prefers All the Right Moves to see early Cruise in 1983
Chris Ryan▶ 1:39:42Ferris Bueller's Day Off — Ferris Bueller's Day Off - contrasts Joel's obsession with money/success against Bueller's rejection of that system

Coach Finstock Life Lesson

Bill Simmons▶ 1:41:52Sometimes you gotta say what the fuck
Chris Ryan▶ 1:41:58Sometimes you gotta say what the fuck

Movies Referenced (35)

All the Right Moves (1983)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 6:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Miami Vice (2006)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 8:35IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 1:09:32IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Say Anything (1989)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 29:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Top Gun (1986)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 14:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Trading Places (1983)

3 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons▶ 10:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 1:11:27IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Creed (2015)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:13:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Home Alone (1990)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 1:21:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Lord of the Flies (1990)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons▶ 8:48IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Night Shift (1982)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 24:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Oppenheimer (2023)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 59:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (11)

Sean Penn

12 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Mystic River, 21 Grams, Dead Man Walking▶ 0:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Alexander Payne

4 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for The Descendants▶ 26:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cameron Crowe

4 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky▶ 29:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Mann

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for The Insider, Collateral, The Last of the Mohicans▶ 5:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Hughes

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Uncle Buck, The Breakfast Club▶ 7:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ben Stouffer

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Haunting in Connecticut▶ 37:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Clint Eastwood

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino, Unforgiven▶ 9:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jonathan Demme

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married▶ 46:29IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sidney Lumet

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for 12 Angry Men▶ 1:11:46IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Stanley Kubrick

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon▶ 1:10:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tom Brady

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The Hot Chick▶ 15:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (51)

Tom Cruise

21 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Top Gun, Minority Report▶ 2:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Curtis Armstrong

9 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Better Off Dead, Risky Business, Revenge of the Nerds▶ 3:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

David Geffen

8 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Little Shop of Horrors, Interview with the Vampire▶ 3:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rebecca De Mornay

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Runaway Train, Risky Business▶ 7:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Harry Dean Stanton

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Alien, The Green Mile▶ 17:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bronson Pinchot

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Beverly Hills Cop, True Romance, Risky Business▶ 3:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Frank Sinatra

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for From Here to Eternity▶ 1:13:34IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Joe Biden

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 1:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ron Dean

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for The Fugitive, The Breakfast Club, The Dark Knight▶ 40:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Timothy Hutton

4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Ordinary People, Beautiful Girls▶ 16:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bruce Young

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 1:09:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Charlie Sheen

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Wall Street▶ 16:48IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (6)

Paul Brickman

15 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Risky Business▶ 5:38IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bruce Springsteen

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Wrestler, Philadelphia▶ 9:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Stephen King

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Maximum Overdrive▶ 12:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Joel Cohen

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Toy Story, Money Talks▶ 26:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Ebert

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 31:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tom Holland

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Child's Play▶ 1:13:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (1)

Michael Grantland

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Other Guys▶ 34:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗