4/5 Cocktail - A FUN LOOK BACK
  by Jorge R. Ortiz Jr.
Cocktail was an entertaining movie that probably didn't have some of the commercial success as some of the other better known Tom Cruise movies but it was alot of fun. Great music and a very realistic look into the bar/nightclub scene back in those days. A good date movie and ofcourse Tom Cruise and that million dollar mugging. Maybe not the strongest storyline in the world and kinda jumps around a bit but still an entertaining hour and a half.

5/5 It spoke too me!
  by BigMan (Kennewick, Wa)
As a guy around his age and totally lost in life, this film spoke too me. Its not the best film ever but it has its spot and fills it very well. Great film!

5/5 Best Tom Cruise movie
  by J. Dykstra (Roswell, NM)
I'm not a huge fan of Tom Cruise, but I think this is probably his best movie in my opinion. This is the right role for his cocky attitude. This is a great 1980s movie too. It has a lot of the themes from that time period. Of course the movie is probably most famous for the bottle-spinning slick bartending and banter between Cruise and Bryan Brown. It's almost like two great movies rolled into one. One movie is the whole get-rich decadent 1980s scene and the other is a halfway decent romantic movie. All of the acting is great, and most of the dialog is sharp. This is a movie you can watch over and over and it never gets old.

4/5 Interesting Plot Twists, But Very Idealized
  by Aradia Paganus (Middle America, in a giant corn field between two rivers!)
My boyfriend really wanted to rent this movie, but we could not find it anywhere-- so I went ahead and bought a copy here on amazon. I didn't know what to expect, my boyfriend was a 'flare' bar-tender while in college (he does those amazing stunts while making drinks).

Anyhoo. I can typically figure out the plot, the intended morals of the film- and most all the corporate sponsors of a film in about 15 mins of the start. This one was much more difficult-- it portrayed the way, I am sure many, 20-somethings feel when getting into the 'real world'. What to do with your life, how to get there. The lead character starts down one avenue, the military where we begin the movie. Then he goes to the big city imagining life at the top only to realize he will need some more education to get there. Gets into school, but needed employment. He stumbles into a bar where he learns very quickly the skills of the trade. Sleep deprivation and his own idealism screw him over in college.

So the character still has a goal of getting to the top and creates another idealized plan for getting there without a degree. His partner betrays him as a way to teach him a lesson about love *cruel, but... you'll see* So the hero of the story continues his plan for success alone. Life is great, if not lonely. He meets a girl. *awhhh*

The cruel partner shows up again... but he's a gold digger now! And gets the hero into trouble again... *hearts get broken*

Plot shift again... totally new lifestyle, but the hero remains faithful to his plan of getting to the top (very '80's movie). But more heartbreak, a death and a few fist fights later he learns lessons about money, love and friendship... *cue cheesy music* the things that really matter in life.
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Over all the movie was fine, but if you think deeper than the average movie viewer you will note that they sugar coat the true economic hardships of living in the city as a student; and completely ignore the issue of alcoholism as a disease. You will get annoyed by the fact that the partner of the hero can always manipulate the hero by 'betting' with him. And unplanned pregnancy is completely glossed over as something that happens with no options available to the woman... and the man is not expected to participate-- or even be aware-- of the pregnancy or the child. However because he does want to be in the woman's life he is a hero, and of course just because they spent a few sweaty nights having unprotected sex on a beach they will have a satisfying marriage in the city... regardless of the fact that he is a bartender/owner of a dingy bar, regardless of the fact that this woman was the daughter of multi-millionaires who was disowned because she stayed with the Hero of the story. Not to mention that they are expecting twins... and that she hangs out while pregnant in a smoky bar (but hey it was the '80s).

I realize that I was born in '84, and I don't entirely understand the ethics of the decade-- but there is so much more to being successful in life than being idealistic. However I imagine it did help him that he was attractive, white and male... I would love to see a sequel to this film:
-- The Hero of the film becomes absent, alcoholic husband/father, bitter because he's too old and too tired to keep up the fantasy that he'll 'make it one day'.
--- The beautiful love interest, now overweight, depressed and resentful of the man that got her knocked up in the first place, then got her disowned by her rich family; and of the children that made her loose her figure.
-- Plot twist involving low-income housing, AA, Jenny Craig, child protective services, welfare and food stamps... maybe an extra-marital affair! Oh the possibilities are endless.


5/5 Favorite Movie
  by Jeremy Paulin
This was my favorite movie growing up and I'm glad they made it into a DVD so I can continue watching it!