Review of Cocktail

Brian Flannigan (Tom Cruise) is a highly successful bartender who wants to establish his own business with the help of his mentor Doug (Bryan Brown) and the Coughlin Laws. During which, Brian forms a relationship with a beautiful diner waitress Jordan (Elizabeth Shue), the daughter of a rich family in Park Avenue. The first third of Cocktail, where Brian and Doug team together to run the business, was the best part. As the two leads talked about saving money and teaching each other about bar tricks, I begged for more. Maybe they could do a cocktail recipe exam, go over protocol behind the counter, dealing with intoxicated patrons, or rehearse these bar tricks night after night. Instead, Jordan showed up and the movie switched from being a unique story about bar entrepreneurship to a generic romantic comedy full of tired clichés. The clichés are as follows: montage of their romantic date, misunderstanding leading to breakup, failed reconciliation attempts, pregnancy drop, fight with girlfriend’s father, father being a rich snob, and a marriage at the end. In fact, the plot derailed so much I almost forgot that Brian was even a bartender, let alone a business college graduate. Speaking of, did we ever see Brian graduate, excel in his studies, or what degree he mastered? Cocktail never gives us the answer because it’s too busy holding cheap romantic comedy tropes rather than establishing story arcs that matter.

(1 ½ Red Eyes out of 5)