Title: Cocktail (1988)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Bryan Brown, and Elisabeth Shue
Directed by: Roger Donaldson
Runtime: 103 Minutes
MPAA: Rated R (See Austin’s Rating at the end of the review)
In 1988, Tom Cruise was the star of both the Razzie’s Worst Picture of the Year (Cocktail) and the Academy Award’s Best Picture of the Year (Rainman). By most people’s standards, Cocktail is a bad movie. The editing is confusing, the script is cheesy, and the characters’ motivations are questionable at best. So, does this mean that I think Cocktail is a bad movie? Let’s take a look at Austin’s Law to find out!
Austin’s Law #1: The way I see it, there are only two things that make a movie a bad movie — if it’s boring, or if it makes me angry.
Although Cocktail can be a confusing mess at times, it is neither boring nor does it make me angry. What do I mean by boring and angry? An example of a boring movie would be U-571 starring Jon Bon Jovi. There are parts of U-571 that I like, such as the boarding of the u-boat, but I find the overall movie quite boring. Therefore, in my opinion, U-571 is a bad movie. An example of a movie that makes me angry is Jurassic World. Of course, Jurassic World is a much better-made movie than Cocktail. However, Jurassic World’s tone, morals, and over-arching themes had me steaming by the time the credits rolled.
***(Just as a side note, if you happen to enjoy watching U-571 or Jurassic World, then that’s great! The opinions shared in this review are just that — opinions! Anyways, back to the review.)***
This all being said, Cocktail is an entertaining film and does not make me angry. So despite it being a subpar film, I can’t say it is a bad movie. So, should you watch Cocktail? Is it the kinda movie that you’d enjoy? Let’s go over the story real quick, and then we’ll take a look at what’s good and what’s not-so-good about this iconic 1988 film.
After Brian Flanagan (Tom Cruise, Top Gun) finished his time in the U.S. Army, he heads back to New York City and meets his Uncle Pat at his bar. Brian has dreams of making it rich. However, after applying for several jobs, he soon finds out that most corporations want their employees to have a college degree. So Brian gets a part-time job as a bartender at night while studying for a business degree during the day.
Brian’s boss, mentor, and eventually best friend is Doug Coughlin (Bryan Brown, F/X). Coughlin is a “fool-osopher” who teaches our protagonist how to be the best flair bartender in the world while giving Brian advice, known as “Coughlin’s Laws”. At first, Brian does not even know how to make a martini, but within a few weeks (or is it months, years?) The movie at one point says that Brian and Coughlin worked together for three years. However, this is not easily apparent to the audience), Brian becomes the best flair bartender in New York City. The two friends’ dream is to open up their own franchise of bars called “Cocktails & Dreams”.
And this is where the movie begins to rapidly become more confusing (and more cheesy!). So, Brian starts dating this girl named Carol (Gina Gershon, Face/Off), and for somehow Coughlin tricks Carol into breaking up with Brian “for your (Brian’s) own good”. How, and more importantly, why this all happened is beyond the viewing audience’s understanding. And yes, if you are wondering, the movie is based on a novel, both written by Heywood Gould. Does Mr. Gould explain this better in the novel? I do not know and honestly, it does not matter. You should not have to read the book to watch the movie, especially for a movie like Cocktail (no offense).
This is also when the movie starts to get noticeably more cheesy. My favorite of these cheesy moments is “the world’s first yuppie poet” (Kelly Connell, Spider-Man 2). What exactly is the point of this character? I think that it is the screenwriter’s attempt at being “self-aware” and “smarter-than-your-average screenwriter”.
Anyways, this fight between Brian and Coughlin leads to Brian going to Jamaica for some reason. And this is where everyone who saw the trailers thought that the movie would take place: Jamaica. And fun fact, did you know that the Beach Boys wrote “Kokomo” for Cocktail? And that it got an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song? Seriously, go on YouTube and watch the Kokomo official music video. It features tons of clips from Cocktail and is an example of one a movie song that is way better than the movie itself. While Kokomo is in just about everyone’s top 5 Beach Boys songs, Cocktail is not in most people’s top 5 Tom Cruise movies.
Brian falls in love, rather quickly, with Jordan Mooney (Elizabeth Shue, The Karate Kid). Not that I blame him! I think that Elizabeth Shue is one of the most beautiful actresses of all time. I’d fall for her too if I were in his shoes. At first, Brian tells her that this relationship is merely a one-night stand, but after a montage sequence (set to a darn good soundtrack), our heroes and the audience realizes that this one-night stand is indeed true love. And in my opinion, stuff like this is where the movie shines. For all of Cocktail’s problems, Tom Cruise and Elizabeth Shue’s on-screen chemistry is not one of them! No matter how cheesy their lines are, you somehow really buy into their characters. You can see how and why these two would fall for each other. They are both a little awkward, and they both try pretty hard to impress the other. And what can I say — it’s adorable. And I believe that this part of the film is why Cocktail was a box office success. At the end of the day, a romance movie is only as good as its two leads.
Show a picture of a waterfall. Tagline: I want to find out where this waterfall is and visit it so badly! It is also of interest to note that the famous waterfall scene inspired similar scenes in Tuck Everlasting and Kangaroo Jack.
After Brian and Jordan fall in love, Coughlin shows up in Jamaica. Coughlin is now married to a supermodel and is the rich owner of his own flair bar. For some reason, Coughlin bets Brian that he couldn't "pick up" this wealthy older woman named Bonnie (Lisa Banes, Gone Girl) at the bar. I assume that Coughlin did not know that Brian had fallen in love the night before, but still though. Why did Brian not bring this up? Jordan asks Brian this very question later in the movie, and all Brian can say is that “it’s what guys do. We don’t back down from a bet.” So, unfortunately, Brian accepts the challenge and wins over the older, wealthy woman. Jordan sees Brian and the older woman together. This Devastates her, and she takes a plane back to New York City. Oh yeah, did I mention that Brian, Jordan, and the older wealthy woman are all three from NYC and happen to meet each other on the same island at the same time?
So, of course, in the morning, Brian regrets sleeping with Bonnie, and this is where it gets confusing. Coughlin teases Brian about the situation but waits a minute, why would Coughlin do this? He and Brian have not worked together in, according to the dialogue, three whole years! If Coughlin is supposed to be Brian’s best friend, this part does not make much sense to me. Now, this goes without saying, but yes, obviously there is some kind of answer to all of these faults that I have pointed out. So if you can figure out Coughlin’s character motivation, then, by all means, comment in the comment section below and explain it.
Brian moves back to NYC with Bonnie. Why? Great question. The movie just kind of abruptly shows Brian and Bonnie living together in NYC. Weird, right? Well, this editing style is one of Cocktail’s many faults. Sure, there’s a good story buried within Cocktail. There’s just a lack of cohesive editing. I heard that Topher Grace and Steven Soderbergh are making some interesting re-edits of famous movies. If you gentlemen are up to the task, please re-edit the transitions in Cocktail as part of an official DVD re-release.
Oh yeah, so Bonnie is an artist now. And Brian gets triggered about something or another in her art show, so they break up. Why were they a couple to begin with? Why did Brian not just tell Bonnie the truth? I don’t know, you tell me. Anyways, Brian shows up at the diner where Jordan works where she pours the “daily special and soup of the day” all over Brian.
Brian learns that Jordan is pregnant with his child. And that Jordan’s family is wealthy. Jordan, however, says that she never wants to see Brian again. Brian shows up at Jordan’s parents’ penthouse to try to talk to her. Jordan's father (Laurence Luckinbill, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) attempts to buy Brian off, but Brian refuses the money. As a side note, I believe that the Family Guy episode “Death Lives” loosely based its plot on this specific subplot of Cocktail.
Back to the movie. So, Coughlin tells Brian that he is depressed and is in great debt. In one of the saddest scenes of the movie, Coughlin commits suicide and Brian is the one that finds the body. And again, it is scenes like this that actually make Cocktail a good movie. Tom Cruise is great at expressing sorrow on-screen. Even though Coughlin’s character was kind of a jerk, you still like him. For all of his faults, Coughlin was charming, funny, and in his own way, a good friend. Coughlin’s death also inspires Brian to man up. He confronts Jordan’s parents and convinces Joran to marry him. For all of the confusing moments in Cocktail, Heywood Gould really knows how to write these sorta scenes. Hands down, this is one of the best “give me one more chance” scenes I have ever seen in a film. Right up there with The Notebook and Say Anything.
The movie ends on a cheesy, but happy note. Brian names his bar “Cocktails & Dreams” after Coughlin and his dream bar. And to top it all off, Brian finds out during his wedding speech that Jordan is, in fact, pregnant — with twins! Cue laughter from the audience. The end.
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