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Tom Cruise, Bryan Brown, Elisabeth Shue, Lisa Banes, Laurence Luckinbill ... see more see more... , Kelly Lynch , Gina Gershon , Ron Dean , Ellen Foley , Gerry Bamman , E. Hampton Beagle , Reathel Bean , Paul Benedict , Larry Block , Peter Boyden , Kelly Connell , Rich Crater , Robert Donley , James Eckhouse , Dianne Heatherington , Justin Louis , Rosalyn Marshall , Ken McGregor , Andrea Morse , Jack Newman , Chris Owens , Jean Pflieger , Liisa Repo-Martell , George Sperdakos , Allan Wasserman , Parker Whitman , Bill Bateman , Jeff Silverman , Lew Saunders , Paul Abbott , Harvey J. Alperin , Gregg Baker , David Chant , Diane Douglass , Adam Furfaro , Leroy Gibbons , Robert Greenberg , Luther Hansraj , Dan MacDonald , Ellen Maguire , James Mainprize , Arlene Mazerolle , Kim Nelles , Joseph Zaccone , John Lyons , Donna Isaacson , John Graham , David Crowley , Richard B. Livingston

Tom Cruise juggles Martini shakers and ice cubes as the materialistic Brian Flanagan, a bartender who drops out of school to search for the perfect "rich chick" who will bankroll him into luxury. Bria... read more read more...n meets up with bar veteran Doug Couglin (Bryan Brown) and they put together a dance-duo bar-tending act, taking five minutes to a mix a drink as they dance and toss gin bottles behind the bar to cutting-edge rock music circa 1988. The patrons, instead of demanding the booze, are dazzled by their antics and cheer them on. As a result, the bartenders become wildly popular -- in particular, Brian, who finds the bar babes falling all over each other to hop into the sack with him. As a result of their bar-tending success, they get hired to tend bar at a swanky disco, but there Brian and Doug have a falling out, and Brian takes off for Jamaica. There he meets vacationing New York City waitress Jordan Mooney (Elisabeth Shue) and the two fall in love. But then Brian meets rich New York fashion executive Bonnie (Lisa Banes) who wants to take Brian back to Manhattan with her to become her drink-mixing stud. When Jordan sees this, the love affair is put on hold. But not for long, as pangs of consciousness begin to filter through Brian's drunken haze. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Flixster Users

60% liked it

99,999 ratings

Critics

14% liked it

21 critics

R, 1 hr. 43 min.

Directed by: Roger Donaldson

Release Date: July 29, 1988

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DVD Release Date: August 13, 2002

Stats: 3,276 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (3,276)

  • FrizzDrop
    August 22, 2011
    FrizzDrop
    It's always an eye opening experience when you enjoy a film that you know you should hate. Such is the self hatred roller coaster of Cocktail, a very basic and uninspiring premise, also poorly executed, but way too much fun with its camp and cast of characters to incite the usual... read more villagers with torches effect. Yes, the eighties were an especially grotesque time for cinema, including sex fueled debauchery, consumerism going hand in hand with Reagan economics, and some mind altering soundtracks and scores, all synth, all the time. Cocktail gravitates towards these pitfalls with great ease, but never quite makes it into awful, mostly because of the intriguing cast. The plot itself is nauseating, starting off as a great story of a bartender following his dream of wealth and power. Instead of climbing the ladder, or at least cultivating a "there's more to life than money" mentality, our protagonist becomes ever more unlikable, a lady's man so in your face it's an ugly portrayal. Somehow we bounce between New York City and Jamaica, but not in a timeline that makes any sense, including a romance with Elisabeth Shue's character. It's because Tom Cruise can pull off cocky in almost all roles, and Shue is the obliged girl next door, that this is a cult success. Even though the story, with all the rags to riches mentality, but none of the follow through, is based on Cruise's character, it just isn't juicy enough for the audience. There's so much materialistic buildup from our hero, that his subsequent behavior and that of the other characters is sickening, especially Shue's. Still, anything with Cruise in the eighties includes an eyeful of neon and that quirky grin, which is enough for any woman with an open mind.
  • murphmann93
    June 23, 2011
    murphmann93
    One of the best romantic films ever made. I'm in love with this film and Tom Cruise was exceptional.
  • DreamExtractor
    March 16, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    What a waste of talent, I hated it.
  • ythelastman89
    November 29, 2010
    ythelastman89
    It's bizarre that this movie is actually as good as it is. A movie about the life of a bartender just seems stupid, but this was extremely well done. The acting, filming and plot was very well done. It's also really fun and enjoyable, a light hearted masterpiece if you ask me. To... read morem Cruise and Elisabeth Shue are its main attraction, delivering completely. It's hard to explain in words, but this movie just needs to be seen and enjoyed by all.
  • 76Majikat
    October 9, 2010
    76Majikat
    A romantic Drama set in the late 80's. A nostalgic classic of it's time, whilst many fans were enjoying Tom Cruise, it was always Bryan Brown who stole the show in this film for me.

    Very corny and cheesy in parts, but completely watchable and one of my favourites of that era,... read more hence the rating, very quoteable too.
  • movieguru12
    April 3, 2010
    movieguru12
    This movie didn't fail to amaze me,considering Tom Cruise was in it. LOVE IT!!! The story is just awesome :)
  • SirPant
    September 29, 2009
    SirPant
    This is so awful it makes me shudder. Love that Shue though!
  • stormyweather980
    September 10, 2009
    stormyweather980
    Flanagan (Tom Cruise) is a student studying business and who takes up a new job being a bartender. Flanagan proves to be a great bartender, but he doesn't want to be a bartender all his life, especially after his co-worker betrays him and after he drops out of college. Flanagan i... read moresn't really satisfied with anything in his life until he meets an attractive girl named Jordan (Elisabeth Shue) and falls in love with her. But even then everything doesn't go as planned after he takes up a bet with his betraying former co-worker.
    "Cocktail" is a pretty good movie. It was one of the best of Tom Cruise's older movies. It has a good plot and the soundtrack isn't bad either. I recommend anybody to at least watch "Cocktail." NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2001.
  • roygutteridge
    May 26, 2009
    roygutteridge
    Overall, it's ridiculous, but Cocktail is a real classic of the late-80s self-help moviemaking genre.
  • thmtsang
    July 14, 2007
    thmtsang
    One of my fave movies from my teens. Love the musci. Good story.

View All Cocktail Reviews

Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The more you think about what really happens in Cocktail, the more you realize how empty and fabricated it really is. Full Review

Rita Kempley
January 1, 2000
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

Cocktail is mud in your eye. Full Review

Ken Hanke
September 11, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Stupid vanity film for Cruise at his worst.

Kevin A. Ranson
April 6, 2003
Kevin A. Ranson, MovieCrypt.com

Shaky, not stirring.

Scott Weinberg
July 25, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Puddle-deep and coated in neon.

MaryAnn Johanson
January 1, 2000
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher

At least Cocktail isn't offensive... unless you are insulted by losing two hours of your life -- two hours you'll never get back -- to a boring movie with the emotional depth of a Harold Robbins novel. Full Review

Christopher Null
January 1, 2000
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

Overall, it's ridiculous, but Cocktail is a real classic of the late-80s self-help moviemaking genre. Full Review

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Cole Smithey
March 8, 2008
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Cocktail Trivia

  • Which movie did Tom Cruise play the character Brian Flanagan?  Answer »
  • In what movie did Tom Cruise play a bartender?  Answer »
  • She's been girlfriend to Tom Cruise in Cocktail, Ralph Macchio in Karate Kid, Michael J Fox in Back to the Future, had one big Adventure in Babysitting and was almost killed by the Hollow Man.  Answer »
  • Who starred in the following films: Legend The Outsiders Cocktail Risky Business  Answer »
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