Image: The MovieDB
About This Quiz
This was the movie that put Tom Cruise on the map -- an unabashed celebration of '80s ambition and materialism! Now, test your recall of this teen classic with our quiz!
"Risky Business" is set in the suburbs of what U.S. city?
Boston
Chicago
"Teens in Chicago" was practically a subgenre in the 1980s. "Sixteen Candles" and other Brat Pack movies are set there.
Miami
Pensacola
What is the name of Tom Cruise's character?
Charlie Crane
Joel Goodson
Joel is the only child of uptight but loving parents. When they leave on a trip, it opens the door for all the mayhem that Joel involves himself in.
Chris Columbus
Huck Sawyer
What type of car does Mr. Goodson drive?
a BMW
a Mercedes
a minivan
a Porsche
Joel's mother drives a woody wagon. Guess which car Joel opts to take out for drives in his parents' absence? (Defying his father's admonition not to, by the way).
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Who played Joel's upright, decent friend Barry?
Emilio Estevez
Andrew McCarthy
Bronson Pinchot
Pinchot later found success on "Perfect Strangers," an odd-couple type sitcom. He played Balki Bartokomous, a fun-loving immigrant whose roommate in America is his very straight-laced cousin, Larry.
Charlie Sheen
Which Ivy League school is Joel intent on attending?
Dartmouth
Harvard
Princeton
Ivy League schools were practically a fetish in 1980s teen films. If you made it into one of them, your future was set, or so the movies would have you believe.
Yale
What's the name of the business club that Joel belongs to at school?
CEOs in Training
Future Leaders
Future Enterprisers
Later, the call girl Lana will cut Joel down to size by calling the group "Little Enterprisers." Ouch!
Capital-C Capitalists
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What does Joel drink with dinner, the first night his parents are away?
beer
champagne
Chivas Regal and Coke
Granted, "Jack and Coke" was popular among young drinkers in the 80s. But Chivas Regal? We can imagine Scotch lovers in the audience turning pale with shame at the disrespect.
Jolt Cola
Everyone remembers that Joel danced to "Old Time Rock and Roll." But what was he wearing at the time?
501s and a white T
his underwear and socks
a dress shirt, underwear and socks
Some people forget this detail, but he was wearing a pink-and-white finely-striped dress shirt over his underwear. This might be because to make Cruise look younger, the filmmakers had him lose weight, but not gain any muscle ... he might have felt insecure showing his chest and abs under those circumstances.
his mother's negligee
Who played Miles, the friend who goads Joel into misbehaving?
Curtis Armstrong
Armstrong was cast here against what would become his "type" -- the offbeat, nebbishy guy. Most recently, he played the book-loving (but powerful) angel Metatron on "Supernatural."
C. Thomas Howell
Patrick Swayze
James Spader
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Who gives Lana's phone number to Joel?
his next-door neighbor
his friend Miles
a transvestite prostitute
Jackie, the transvestite, turns up after Miles calls him pretending to be Joel. (Horny guys accidentally ordering up a transvestite hooker is an evergreen joke in Hollywood.) Jackie is sympathetic, though, and gives Joel a number he can use.
no one, he gets it from the newspaper
What fake name does Joel give Lana on the phone?
Andrew
Dominic
Ralph
For a guy trying to impress an older call girl, Joel didn't pick a very sexy pseudonym. (No offense to all the Ralphs out there!)
Rocky
How much money does Lana want for spending the night with Joel?
$100
$300
Lana asks for the $300 the following morning, but Joel only has $50 on him. When having a call girl over, always negotiate the price beforehand, Joel!
$500
this is never made clear
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What does Joel do in order to pay Lana?
cashes out a bond
Joel goes to the bank to cash out a savings bond. Unfortunately, Lana didn't wait. When he gets back, she's gone, having taken an object of value with her. Never leave them alone in your house, Joel!
borrows money from Barry
writes a check off his father's account
sells his bicycle
Which of these items does Lana take?
a Persian rug
a glass egg
Joel's mother owns a Steuben glass egg and gives it pride of place on the mantel, where it's too tempting for Lana to avoid. Always put the valuables out of sight, Joel!
a stereo
a VCR
Who is Guido?
the teacher in Future Enterprisers
Lana's "manager"
When Joel goes into Chicago to confront Lana, she's having a fight with Guido. Joel is pressured into helping her make her escape from her angry pimp.
Lana's brother
another transvestite prostitute
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Who does Joel take with him to confront Lana?
Barry
Glenn
Miles
This is where we see through Miles's bad-boy image. When things turn dangerous, Miles repeatedly says he's going to throw up. He also says, "I have a trig exam tomorrow, and I'm being chased by Guido the killer pimp."
he goes alone
What does Lana do while Joel is at school the next day?
searches his home for valuables
takes the Porsche out
invites a friend to stay at the Goodsons' place
all of these
Lana has to implore Joel to let her stay at his place alone, and the trusting Joel lets her. Well, at least she doesn't steal anything else.
Who is Vicki?
a prospective girlfriend for Joel
Miles's girlfriend
one of Lana's friends
While Joel is at school, Lana calls Vicki, who comes out to the Goodsons' house. When Guido arrives, they taunt him from an upstairs window, saying "Maybe we work for Joel, now."
Joel's aunt
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Which of Joel's friends has sex with Vicki?
Barry
Glenn
Glenn is in the Goodson house when Joel gets home from school. Joel is worried that he's had sex with Lana, but that's not exactly the case. Glenn cashed out a bond (yes, another bond!) to fund a romp with Vicki.
Miles
none of these
What happens to Mr. Goodson's Porsche?
Lana and Vicki steal it
it rolls into Lake Michigan
Lana grabbed her purse and stormed off after a disagreement with Joel. She evidently bumped the gearshift, putting the car in neutral, allowing it to roll into the lake. The service manager at the dealership, later, asks "Who's the U-Boat commander?" But Joel doesn't find it so funny.
Guido keys it
Joel crashes it outrunning Guido
Who comes to the house the night of the party?
Guido
Joel's high-school principal
a Princeton admssions counselor
Joel's father told him that he pulled some strings with a friend, and that the admissions counselor, Mr. Rutherford, would be coming by. With all the excitement, Joel understandably forgot.
the mayor of Chicago
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Which of these is NOT an extracurricular on Joel's resume?
tennis
Spanish club
yearbook staff
varsity track
they're all extracurriculars he's done
Though Joel has joined a lot of clubs, and played sports, his GPA is only 3.14 and his SATs are average. Sadly, he's just not Princeton material -- yet.
Where does Joel say it looks like he'll be attending college?
Penn
University of Illinois
Joel has handled the awkwardness of the mid-party interview admirably, but his records don't impress Mr. Rutherford. Joel slips on his Ray-Bans, grins at Lana, and says it "looks like University of Illinois."
Ohio State
the School of Hard Knocks
Where do Joel and Lana have sex, after the party?
his parents' bed
on an El train
This was one of the 1980s' more memorable sex scenes. Joel shoehorns a drunk guy off the train so he and Lana can have the car to themselves.
at a five-star hotel
in a city park
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What song plays on the soundtrack as Joel and Lana have sex on the train?
"Don't Dream It's Over"
"In the Air Tonight"
This song has an unusual urban legend attached to it: that Phil Collins wrote it after witnessing a crime, and that he sang it at a concert while a spotlight focused on the guilty party, who was then arrested by police. You can read the whole (implausible) story at snopes.com.
"Only the Lonely"
"Little Red Corvette"
The next morning, what does Joel come home to find?
his house empty of furniture
While Joel and Lana were on the train, the vengeful Guido cleaned out his house. We hope a night of sex on a train was worth it.
Guido waiting for him
a prostitute dead in his mother's bed
Barry passed out drunk in the kitchen
How does Joel get his parents' furniture and things back?
he calls the police
he has Lana sneak him into Guido's place
he buys it with the money he made last night
Joel made a killing the night before, but Guido gets every last dollar selling Joel his family's things. (Well, other than what he spent on having the Porsche restored). As Guido leaves, he wishes Joel luck as a businessman: "God knows you're going to need it!"
he doesn't
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Why is Joel's mother upset with him?
she can smell cigarette smoke in the house
there's a crack in her glass egg
If the movie can be said to have a final punchline, this is it. After everything that's happened -- the car nearly being ruined, the house being used as a brothel, and all the furniture being stolen -- Mrs. Goodson thinks Joel has been "irresponsible" for getting a small crack in her egg.
the plants haven't been watered
the Chivas bottle is noticeably lower on Scotch
How much money does Joel say he grossed in one night?
$2500
$5000
$7500
$8000
Joel says he made this money working in "human fulfillment." That's one way to put it!
Where does Joel make this statement?
in a final interview with Princeton
at a Future Enterprisers meeting
in a job interview years later
just in the voiceover
It'd be easy to think that Joel said this at a Future Enterprisers meeting -- the film has just shown young Future Enterprisers talking about their projects and how they earned hundreds of dollars from them. But Joel couldn't attend that final project meeting because he was ejected from Future Enterprisers earlier, as punishment for an unexcused absence.
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What group did the soundtrack for the movie?
Chicago
Wang Chung
Talking Heads
Tangerine Dream
Though the long-lived group did the soundtrack, songs from other famous artists are prominently used. Best known is, of course, Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll."
What kind of sunglasses does Joel wear throughout the movie?
aviator shades
custom smoked-lens glasses
Wayfarers
The popularity of Wayfarers skyrocketed after the film, but later fell out of favor (probably for being "too 80s"). Which is unfortunate: The Wayfarer is one of the few styles of sunglass that flatters nearly all face types.
wraparound Oakleys
How old was Curtis Armstrong when he played Miles?
15
19
24
30
Incredibly, Armstrong was babyfaced enough to play a high-school senior at 30 years old. He's letting his grays show now, but still looks all right for 63.
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Who played "Guido the killer pimp"?
Henry Winkler
Ray Liotta
Joe Pantoliano
To be fair, there's no evidence that Guido ever intended to kill anybody. He does like to wave a gun around, though.
Joe Pesci
Which of these actresses did Tom Cruise want to play Lana?
Kim Basinger
Diane Lane
Lane said that Cruise was reading the script as they were shooting "The Outsiders" together (Lane played Cherry Valance). Cruise wanted her for Lana, but Lane's father put his foot down about his daughter playing a call girl.
Erin Moran
Heather Locklear
You Got:
/35
The MovieDB