Overview
See production notesHigh school senior Joel Goodsen lives with his wealthy parents in the Chicago North Shore community of Glencoe. His father wants him to attend Princeton University, his alma mater, and arranges an interview for Joel with one of its admissions officers. Meanwhile, Joel worries about his SAT scores and his participation in Future Enterprisers, an extracurricular activity in which high school students work in teams to create small businesses. When Joel's parents leave on a trip, his friend Miles encourages him to relax and enjoy his newfound freedom. On his first night home alone, Joel raids his parents' liquor cabinet, plays the stereo loudly, and dances around the living room in his briefs to "Old Time Rock and Roll". On the second night, Miles arranges for an escort named Jackie to visit Joel. Jackie turns out to be a burly, cross-dressing Black man, so Joel pays him simply to leave. As Jackie departs, he gives Joel the number of another escort, Lana. Unable to sleep, Joel hesitantly calls Lana, who turns out to be an attractive young woman, and the two spend the night together. The next morning, Lana asks Joel for $300 (equivalent to $792 in 2024) for her services. He goes to the bank, but when he returns, she is gone, along with his mother's expensive Steuben glass egg. Joel and Miles later pick Lana up downtown and demand the egg back, but her pimp, Guido, interrupts them and pulls a gun. After driving off in his father's prized Porsche 928, Joel outmaneuvers Guido during a car chase. Lana tells Joel that the egg is with the rest of her belongings at Guido's apartment. Joel allows her to stay at his house while he goes to school. When he returns home, Lana has invited another prostitute, Vicki, to stay, but Joel objects. The women leave, only to encounter Guido on the front lawn, where they tell him that they now work for Joel. To avoid further escalation, Joel reluctantly agrees to let them stay for one more night. Later that night, Joel, Lana, Vicki, and Joel's friend Barry go out and get high on marijuana. After Lana accidentally bumps the Porsche out of gear while retrieving her purse, the car slowly rolls down a hill and onto a pier. Despite Joel's desperate attempt to stop it, the pier collapses, and the Porsche sinks into Lake Michigan. When Joel takes the car to a body shop, he is horrified by the repair cost. To pay for it, he decides to host a large pay-to-enter party in his home while simultaneously turning it into a brothel for one night, staffed by Lana's co-workers. Donning Ray-Ban sunglasses and a sport coat, Joel adopts a laid-back business persona and convinces many of his male peers to pay for admission to the party. However, he is unaware that Princeton admissions officer Bill Rutherford is scheduled to arrive that same night for their planned interview. Their conversation is repeatedly interrupted by partygoers, and Rutherford remains unimpressed by Joel's average academic record. Believing his chances of admission to have vanished, Joel jokingly resigns himself to attending the University of Illinois instead. He and Lana drive to a Chicago "L" train, where they have sex. The brothel venture proves to be a huge success, prompting Rutherford to remain at the party. After retrieving the repaired Porsche the following day, Joel discovers that his house has been burglarized. He tries to call Lana, but Guido answers and tells Joel that he will have to buy back the furniture. Joel and his friends manage to move everything back into the house just as his parents return home, though his mother confronts him after noticing a crack in the glass egg. Later, Joel's father congratulates him, revealing that Rutherford was impressed by Joel and recommended his admission to Princeton. Joel subsequently meets Lana at a restaurant, where they speculate about their future together. Lana tells Joel that she wants to continue seeing him, and he jokes that it will cost her.
Plot from Risky BusinessCC BY-SA 4.0
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Quotes
See all quotesMiles: What happened? Joel: Last night? Miles: That's right - with Kessler. Joel: She was babysitting down the street... Miles: We know that! Joel: So I went over there. It turns out that, uh, she was giving the kid a bath and accidentally hit the shower thing... Miles: That could happen. Joel: ...and all her clothes were drying upstairs. So she plops down right on the kitchen floor and she looks up at me and says 'I think I'm in the mood.' Barry: She said that? What did you say? Joel: I didn't have to say anything. Glenn: Whatcha do? Joel: What do you think I did? Glenn: I think you got the hell out of there, ran home, and wacked off. Miles: I disagree. Did you have your bike there? Joel: Yeah. Miles: I think you jumped on your bike, peddled home, and wacked off!
Risky Business, CC BY-SA 4.0
Miles: No guts, Goodson. Joel: Yeah, you know, when it came right down to it, I just wasn't attracted to her. Miles: That should never stop you. Joel: She seemed too big. Miles: It could've worked out! Joel: I figured I would've gotten into trouble somehow. Miles: Sometimes you have to say, "What the fuck!" Make your move! Joel: That's easy for you to say. I mean, you're all set, you're probably going to Harvard. Me, I don't want to make a mistake, jeopardize my future! Miles: Joel, you wanna know something? Joel: What? Miles: Every now and then, say "What the fuck." "What the fuck" gives you freedom. Freedom brings opportunity. Opportunity makes your future... So your folks are going out of town. Joel: Tomorrow. Miles: You got the place all to yourself. Joel: Yeah. Miles: "What the fuck." If you can't say it, you can't do it.
Risky Business, CC BY-SA 4.0
Lana: This is a beautiful place, Ralph. Is it all yours? Joel: It's my folks', actually. Lana: Do you know what it's worth? Joel: A lot, probably. Lana: Oh, yeah! Real estate? It's fabulous! Joel: Look, Lana... uh, my name isn't really Ralph. It's Joel. Lana: Mmmm. I'll be needing 300 bucks...Joel. Joel: You're kidding. Lana: No, I don't believe that I am. Joel: Can I send it to you? Lana: Can you send it to me, Joel? Joel: Well, uh, it's just that I don't have that much here in the house. Lana: How much do you have? Joel: I have 50 dollars. Lana: 50 dollars? What are we going to do about this, Joel? Joel: I don't know. Joel: I, uh, have a bond at the bank. I could go cash that. Lana: I'm not good at waiting for people. Joel: I'll be quick. Lana: Give it a try.
Risky Business, CC BY-SA 4.0
Joel: So is this Guido guy... he's your "manager"? Lana: That's right. Joel: Or a pimp? Lana: Now that's quick Joel. Have you always been this quick, or is this something new? Miles: I don't believe this! I've got a trig midterm tomorrow, and I'm being chased by Guido the killer pimp.
Risky Business, CC BY-SA 4.0
Joel: Will you do me a favor? Lana: Anything, cookie. Joel: Don't steal anything. If I come back here and anything's missing, I'm going straight to the police. I mean it. Lana: Joel, go to school. Go learn something.
Risky Business, CC BY-SA 4.0
Joel: You're right. You are absolutely right to respond this way. I did not have a doctor's appointment. But I will tell you exactly what happened. "Unexcused." You see, Nurse Bolan lf you write "unexcused," I fail two mid-terms. It'll wreck my whole grade point average! If you'd just stop and listen to me, I'll explain everything. The truth is, my parents are away, and I met this girl. A call girl, actually. She came to my house. Look, you're writing again! This is not "unexcused"! If you will just listen to me, then you'll understand, Nurse Bolan. Why? Why won't you listen to me? [Nurse Bolen waves goodbye to Joel] Girl: I had a doctor's appointment. Joel: [pushing the girl out of the way] Excuse me. It wasn't the girl, it was my father's car. I put my father's car into Lake Michigan and I had to get it fixed. [Nurse Bolan waves goodbye again] Just give me a break. [grabs Nurse Bolan by her lapels] Let me put it this way. I have spent the last four years of my life busting my butt in
Risky Business, CC BY-SA 4.0
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