Cocktail (1988)
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5% of critics liked it
(40 reviews) -
60% of users liked it
(99,999 ratings)
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. Brian meets up with bar veteran Doug Couglin (Bryan Brown) and they put together a dance-duo… More 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. Brian 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
- Directed By
- Roger Donaldson
- Genres
- Drama, Romance
- In Theaters
- Jul 29, 1988 Wide
- On DVD
- Aug 13, 2002
- Studio
- Touchstone Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
Cocktail is a bottle of rotgut in a Dom Perignon box.
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Sheila Benson, Los Angeles Times
The pairing of old-hand Brown and young-hand Cruise may have been meant to remind us of Cruise and Paul Newman; if so, think of this as The Color of Counterfeit Money.
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Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
It may not be a megaton bomb, but Cocktail is definitely of the Molotov type.
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Very, very stupid.
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Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune
Cruise is beguiling with his smile and his swagger, but the script doesn't take us anywhere fresh when it leaves the barroom.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Tom Cruise
as Brian Flanagan
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Bryan Brown
as Doug Coughlin
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Elisabeth Shue
as Jordan Mooney
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Lisa Banes
as Bonnie
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Laurence Luckinbill
as Mr. Mooney
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Kelly Lynch
as Kerry Coughlin
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Gina Gershon
as Coral
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Ron Dean
as Uncle Pat
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Ellen Foley
as Eleanor
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Gerry Bamman
as Tourist
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E. Hampton Beagle
as Job Interviewer
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Reathel Bean
as Tourist
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Paul Benedict
as Finance Teacher
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Larry Block
as Bar Owner
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Peter Boyden
as Tourist
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Kelly Connell
as Yuppie Poet
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Rich Crater
as Job Interviewer
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Robert Donley
as Eddie
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James Eckhouse
as Tourist
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Dianne Heatherington
as First Waitress
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Justin Louis
as Soldier
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Rosalyn Marshall
as Job Interviewer
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Ken McGregor
as Sculptor
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Andrea Morse
as Dulcy
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Jack Newman
as Economics Teacher
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Chris Owens
as Soldier
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Jean Pflieger
as Job Interviewer
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Liisa Repo-Martell
as Young Couple in Deli
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George Sperdakos
as English Teacher
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Allan Wasserman
as Job Interviewer
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Parker Whitman
as Job Interviewer
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Bill Bateman
as Job Interviewer
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Jeff Silverman
as Job Interviewer
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Lew Saunders
as Job Interviewer
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Paul Abbott
as Snotty Customer
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Harvey J. Alperin
as Job Interviewer
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Gregg Baker
as Bouncer
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David Chant
as Chinese Porter
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Diane Douglass
as Mrs. Rivkin
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Adam Furfaro
as Young Couple in Deli
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Leroy Gibbons
as Singer
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Robert Greenberg
as Job Interviewer
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Luther Hansraj
as Ambulance Attendant
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Dan MacDonald
as Priest
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Ellen Maguire
as Bar Patron
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James Mainprize
as Butler
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Arlene Mazerolle
as Waitress
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Kim Nelles
as Female Artist
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Joseph Zaccone
as Bar Patron
- John Lyons
- Donna Isaacson
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John Graham
as Soldier
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David Crowley
as Doorman
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Richard B. Livingston
as Job Interviewer