Inside the darkened screening room near Provo on July 22nd, 1983, the assembled group – Alex Hayes, Diane Lane, Robert Downey Jr., Sarah Jessica Parker, John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest, and the journalists – settled in. The opening credits for 'Risky Business' rolled.
On screen, the audience met Joel Goodsen (Alex Hayes), presented as a high-achieving high school student living with wealthy parents in Glencoe, on Chicago's North Shore. The pressure was immediately apparent – his father wants him to attend Princeton, pushing Joel into the Future Enterprisers extracurricular activity. Alex convincingly portrayed Joel's mix of diligence and underlying stress. When Joel's parents go away on a trip, and his friend Miles convinces him to use his newfound freedom, the audience chuckled knowingly. The iconic scene unfolded: Joel raids the liquor cabinet, plays the stereo loudly, and dances around the living room in his briefs and button-down shirt to "Old Time Rock and Roll," drawing appreciative laughter for the moment of liberation.
The narrative shifted gears. Miles calls a prostitute named Jackie on Joel's behalf, leading to the awkward reveal that Jackie is a male cross-dresser. The audience reacted with surprised murmurs and nervous laughter. Joel pays him just to leave, but Jackie gives Joel the number for another prostitute, Lana. That night, an unable-to-sleep Joel hesitantly calls Lana. The introduction of Rebecca De Mornay as the gorgeous blonde woman was electric; her cool confidence captivated the room. They spend the night having sex.
The next morning brought consequences. Lana asks Joel for $300. He goes to the bank, but when he returns, she is gone, along with his mother's expensive Steuben glass egg. A collective groan went through the viewers – the first real sign of Joel's world unraveling. Joel finds Lana and demands the egg back, but her pimp Guido interrupts them, pulling a gun, eliciting gasps from the audience. The subsequent chase, with Joel in his father's Porsche 928 pursued by Guido, was a thrilling sequence. Joel eventually escapes, but Lana tells him the egg is with Guido and convinces him to let her stay at his house. Alex skillfully portrayed Joel's deepening panic.
Things spiral further when Joel returns from school to find his friends over, and Lana has invited another prostitute, Vicki. Joel rejects this, the women leave, only to encounter Guido on the front lawn, leading to an altercation before they run back inside. Joel reluctantly agrees they can stay one more night. Later, Joel, Lana, Vicki, and his friend Barry go out and get high on marijuana. Then disaster strikes again: retrieving her purse, Lana accidentally bumps the Porsche out of gear. Despite Joel's desperate attempt, the car rolls down a hill and onto a pier, which collapses, sinking the Porsche into Lake Michigan. The audience gasped again, fully invested in Joel's escalating nightmare.
The horrifying cost of repairing the Porsche forces Joel's hand. He and Lana decide to turn his parents' house into a brothel for one night. The party scene unfolded – hugely successful, packed with Joel's friends and classmates and Lana's co-workers. The audacity drew shocked laughter. The tension spiked when Rutherford, the Princeton recruiter, chooses that night for Joel's admission interview. The interview, plagued by interruptions from the chaotic party, was a masterclass in comedic agony, with Alex perfectly conveying Joel's mortification. Rutherford leaves, unimpressed, but stays at the party, getting acquainted with Lana's friends. After the party, Joel and Lana make love on a Chicago "L" train, a scene both intimate and risky.
The morning after brings more trouble. Joel comes home after retrieving the repaired Porsche to find the house has been burglarized. Trying to call Lana, Guido answers and tells Joel he can buy his furniture back. With his friends, Joel manages to get everything moved back in just as his parents walk in. Relief is momentary, as his mother notices a crack in her egg. Later, however, Joel's father congratulates him: the interviewer was very impressed, and Joel will be accepted into Princeton. A wave of surprised relief went through the audience – things might work out after all.
In the final scene, Joel meets Lana at a restaurant. They speculate about their future; she wants to keep seeing him, he jokes it will cost her. As the picture fades slightly, Alex's voice is heard in voiceover narration as Joel:
"My name is Joel Goodsen. I deal in human fulfillment. I grossed over eight thousand dollars in one night. Time of your life, huh kid?"
The sharp, cynical final line delivered over the seemingly hopeful image brought a final burst of laughter and applause as the credits rolled.
As the lights came up, the reactions were immediate and positive. Diane Lane turned to Alex instantly. "Alex, that was fantastic! You were incredible!" Robert Downey Jr. and Sarah Jessica Parker added their own praise, joined by John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest, complimenting Alex's complex performance and Rebecca De Mornay's stunning debut. The journalists gathered, eager for soundbites.
Alex accepted the congratulations graciously. Internally, he confirmed his earlier thought: this was the studio's ending, the one favored by test audiences over Brickman's original, more ambiguous vision. He sighed inwardly. Perhaps it truly was a reflection of the times; the optimistic early 80s maybe did prefer a taste of conventional success, even if it sanded down some of the film's sharper, more troubling edges. Still, judging by the reaction in the room, the chosen ending clearly resonated.
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Saturday, July 23rd, 1983. News travels fast in Hollywood, and by the morning after 'Risky Business' opened, the initial verdict was coming in loud and clear. While Alex Hayes and the 'Footloose' cast were miles away in Utah, the industry back in Los Angeles was buzzing about Alex's latest film.
The critical reception was overwhelmingly positive. Morning papers and early television reviews were filled with praise for the film's stylish direction by Paul Brickman, its smart script, and its daring blend of teen angst, dark comedy, and social satire. Well over 90 percent of the collected critic reviews were positive, indicating a strong consensus. Key critics weighed in:
* Roger Ebert lauded the film's intelligence and style, calling it a "defining movie of its generation" and praising the "complex performance" from Alex Hayes and the "coolly captivating presence" of Rebecca De Mornay.
* Gene Siskel agreed, giving it high marks for its "slick execution, surprising depth," and the "undeniable charisma" of its two young leads.
* Janet Maslin in The New York Times, while noting the film showed an "abundance of style" and calling De Mornay "disarming" and Alex's portrayal "about as credible as it can be made," she questioned if the hero's specific problems were universally relatable, though her review remained largely positive.
Other critics celebrated the film's unique mood, its satirical edge, and universally hailed the stellar performances from both Alex Hayes and Rebecca De Mornay, declaring them a potent screen duo.
Audience reaction, while slightly less uniformly positive than the critics, was still very strong. Exit polls showed an 85 percent positive rating. While the R-rating and morally ambiguous themes might have alienated some potential viewers, those who did see it were highly satisfied, awarding the film a solid 'A' CinemaScore.
The film had opened on Friday in 1085 theaters – a significant number, though fewer than Alex's PG-rated '10 Things I Hate About You' due to the more restrictive R-rating limiting the potential audience. Despite this, the opening numbers were powerful:
* Friday (July 22): $3.73 million
* Saturday (July 23): $4.02 million
* Sunday (July 24): $3.84 million
This brought the total opening weekend gross to an impressive $11.59 million. For an original, R-rated film released in the competitive summer market, this was a huge success, significantly exceeding typical openings for similar fare. The combination of critical acclaim, strong audience scores, Alex Hayes's star power, and perhaps a dose of controversy had launched 'Risky Business' successfully out of the gate.