COCKTAIL (1988) 1/2* "Beer is for breakfast!" (as if that's news) That and the elegant smoking technique of Bryan Brown are about it. Everything else is nearly indescribably tasteless: the interiors of everywhere they go, the paintings, the clothes, the music (can you imagine what Reggae musicians think about having to play that kind of shit), Elisabeth Shue's hair-do, the buddying yuppie ethics and morality, the side bets, the umbrella dialogue....also the worst succession of bars in the history of film, absolutely beyond the imagination of anyone with a clue. I have no idea what I would do if I was trying to drink and bartenders started doing that shit. Thrown out, obviously, but for what would depend on the inspiration of the moment. It's extraordinary that a film in which drinking is so central could be so dull and stupid. If this was the only time I'd ever seen Tom Cruise I would consider him nearly in the Jim Carrey category.
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