Cocktail

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2:21

Cocktail

R

Released Jul 29, 1988

1h 44m

Romance

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

9%

Tomatometer

45 Reviews

58%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Brian Flanagan (Tom Cruise) wants a high-paying marketing job, but needs a business degree first. Working as a bartender to pay for college, Flanagan is mentored by his veteran boss, Doug Coughlin (Bryan Brown). Together, their showy tricks and charisma command large crowds and tip payments -- until Flanagan and the cynical Coughlin have a falling out. Flanagan moves to Jamaica to raise enough money to open his own bar, where he falls in love with artist Jordan Mooney (Elisabeth Shue).

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Critics Consensus

There are no surprises in Cocktail, a shallow, dramatically inert romance that squanders Tom Cruise's talents in what amounts to a naive barkeep's banal fantasy.

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Peter Travers

People Magazine

As if realizing that his star hasn't smiled for 15 minutes, Donaldson tacks on a goody-goody ending that would shame the Care Bears. How to sum up what went wrong? Cruise has a line in the movie: "Flat beer from rusty pipes."

Feb 26, 2019

Full Review

Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

Cocktail is a bottle of rotgut in a Dom Perignon box.

May 21, 2013

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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.

May 21, 2013

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Cruise was never been a bad actor, but this film about a flaming sex symbol has elevated him to definitive stardom. [Full review in Spanish]

Jun 22, 2022

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Cocktail kicks off with an entertainingly lighthearted opening stretch revolving around Brian's initial entry into the world of bartending...

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 14, 2020

Full Review

Brian D. Johnson

Maclean's Magazine

Cocktail is a vacuous throwback to Saturday Night Fever -- without the cultural novelty. The script is spiked with some comic lines, but overproof doses of inadvertent humor kill the effect.

Mar 22, 2019

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A.L.Jude P

Predominantly a feelgood movie.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/11/24

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Audience Member

The fact that some top critics have gotten this insanely fun movie to a 9% is why we can't have nice things. This movie is not supposed to be a subversive masterpiece, its supposed to be a fun comedy, and it is. Every actor knocks it out of the park. The writing and jokes are hilarious and realistic. I could go on. The people who've gotten this film to a 9% are incompetent douchebags who have money filled pockets and rated this film so lowly because they can't enjoy things.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/22/24

Full Review

Audience Member

A classic 1980s. Entertaining and fun to watch.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/02/24

Full Review

Musa K

Those times where people in time of confusion, Agressive and love show up Good

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/26/24

Full Review

Lanfranco C

Not so bad, but it is not enough articulated.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/14/24

Full Review

Dale R

A Touchstone movie release about an aspiring New York bartender and his apprenticeship under an experienced bar owner. Tom Cruise’s charisma really shines through in his lead role. Beyond his work to learn to spin liquor bottles, this film doesn’t offer much more than a mediocre love story. There are a few scenes and language that will keep this film off of Disney+. I think this film is worth a watch.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/07/24

Full Review

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Roger Donaldson

Director

Tom Cruise

Brian Flanagan

Bryan Brown

Douglas 'Doug' Coughlin

Elisabeth Shue

Jordan Mooney

Lisa Banes

Bonnie

Laurence Luckinbill

Mr. Mooney

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Cocktail: Trailer 1

2:21

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Synopsis

Brian Flanagan (Tom Cruise) wants a high-paying marketing job, but needs a business degree first. Working as a bartender to pay for college, Flanagan is mentored by his veteran boss, Doug Coughlin (Bryan Brown). Together, their showy tricks and charisma command large crowds and tip payments -- until Flanagan and the cynical Coughlin have a falling out. Flanagan moves to Jamaica to raise enough money to open his own bar, where he falls in love with artist Jordan Mooney (Elisabeth Shue).

Director: Roger Donaldson
Producer: Robert W. Cort, Ted Field
Screenwriter: Heywood Gould
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
Production Co: Touchstone Pictures, Interscope Communications
Rating: R
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 29, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $77.3M
Runtime: 1h 44m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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