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

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

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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

Full Review

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James D

Do I think this was an Oscar worthy flick? No — but I have seen worse make it to the nomination stage. Do I think the low critic's score is warranted? Absolutely not.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/27/25

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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

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Lanfranco C

Not so bad, but it is not enough articulated.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/14/24

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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