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Cocktail

Play trailer 2:21 Poster for Cocktail R Released Jul 29, 1988 1h 44m Romance Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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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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Cocktail

Cocktail

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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A.L.Jude P Predominantly a feelgood movie. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/11/24 Full Review 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 Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

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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