Boards > Lifestyle > Favorite Tom Cruise Movie

RudieCantFail

Baton Rouge, LA

January 2006

MAR 25, 2007 12:20 AM

_panda_ said:
Before Tom Cruise went publicly batshit, and before Mission Impossible there was an essay called the Tom Cruise formula. I just surfed the web and couldnt find it, but basically it went something like this...

all Tom Cruise Movies (80s - Early 90s) have the same formula.

Tom Cruise plays a character who has the drive, but not the means to succeed.
He has a father figure that is usually a coach, boss or other.
He has a love interest that usually begins as an antagonist.
He has an antagonist that creates competetive drive.
At the pinnacle of the movie, his father figure in some way betrays him.
This motivates his competetive drive and brings the love interest in as not only a catalyst but helper. His gains respect from his adversary and together they compete against the father figure, still in some competetive roll wiht each other, where somewhere in the action scene they align interests.
At the end he wins, reconciles with the father figure, gets a high five from the adversary, and generally does not keep the girl, who parts with a smile on her face.

This is true for Taps, The Outsiders, Losin It (although he wasnt the leads), Risky Business, All the Right Moves, Days of Thunder, Cocktail, Color of Money, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, Jerry MaGuire (although he stays with the girl), even the Firm.

Of all his movies - Losin It is classic! Shelly Long, the kid from Bad New Bears that just was nominated for an Oscar and a bunch of horny boys in tijuana!

This formula utterly fails for Top Gun, also his best movie.

I think that it also does not apply to The Outsiders, since he was only in a supporting role.

Bip

Washington, DC

January 2006

MAR 25, 2007 06:03 AM

All the Right Moves.

Mainly because Lea Thompson bears all, which includes some serious 70's style bush. But it also has the Craig T. Nelson and Chris Penn.

Kes

USA

August 2006

MAR 25, 2007 06:50 AM

Born on the Fourth of July was pretty good because he actually gave a performance

meatpieboy

Korea, D.P.R.

June 2004

MAR 25, 2007 07:18 AM

Magnolia.

He was acting from the heart there...

you can tell.

SignalNoise

USA

February 2004

MAR 25, 2007 07:29 AM

Saraphine said:
Risky Business.

Yes!

Looks like the University of Illinois!

_panda_

I'm lost

November 2005

MAR 25, 2007 08:28 AM

adjunct said:

_panda_ said:
Before Tom Cruise went publicly batshit, and before Mission Impossible there was an essay called the Tom Cruise formula. I just surfed the web and couldnt find it, but basically it went something like this...

all Tom Cruise Movies (80s - Early 90s) have the same formula.

Tom Cruise plays a character who has the drive, but not the means to succeed.
He has a father figure that is usually a coach, boss or other.
He has a love interest that usually begins as an antagonist.
He has an antagonist that creates competetive drive.
At the pinnacle of the movie, his father figure in some way betrays him.
This motivates his competetive drive and brings the love interest in as not only a catalyst but helper. His gains respect from his adversary and together they compete against the father figure, still in some competetive roll wiht each other, where somewhere in the action scene they align interests.
At the end he wins, reconciles with the father figure, gets a high five from the adversary, and generally does not keep the girl, who parts with a smile on her face.

This is true for Taps, The Outsiders, Losin It (although he wasnt the leads), Risky Business, All the Right Moves, Days of Thunder, Cocktail, Color of Money, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, Jerry MaGuire (although he stays with the girl), even the Firm.

Of all his movies - Losin It is classic! Shelly Long, the kid from Bad New Bears that just was nominated for an Oscar and a bunch of horny boys in tijuana!

This formula utterly fails for Top Gun, also his best movie.

Wha!
It is classic Top Gun.
Kelly McGillis, love interest - adversary - hook up - go on into the sunset seperately.Val Kilmer - adversary - betrays - "ill get your tail any time". etc.

Kris7

Bridgewater, MA

July 2003

MAR 25, 2007 10:40 AM

His finest performance was in Interview With The Vampire.

It was no challenge for him to play a viscious, ruthless, self-ablsorbed, self-aggrandizing parasite.

All he had to was act naturally.

Phoenixgirl

I'm lost

May 2006

MAR 25, 2007 11:11 AM

adjunct said:

_panda_ said:
Before Tom Cruise went publicly batshit, and before Mission Impossible there was an essay called the Tom Cruise formula. I just surfed the web and couldnt find it, but basically it went something like this...

all Tom Cruise Movies (80s - Early 90s) have the same formula.

Tom Cruise plays a character who has the drive, but not the means to succeed.
He has a father figure that is usually a coach, boss or other.
He has a love interest that usually begins as an antagonist.
He has an antagonist that creates competetive drive.
At the pinnacle of the movie, his father figure in some way betrays him.
This motivates his competetive drive and brings the love interest in as not only a catalyst but helper. His gains respect from his adversary and together they compete against the father figure, still in some competetive roll wiht each other, where somewhere in the action scene they align interests.
At the end he wins, reconciles with the father figure, gets a high five from the adversary, and generally does not keep the girl, who parts with a smile on her face.

This is true for Taps, The Outsiders, Losin It (although he wasnt the leads), Risky Business, All the Right Moves, Days of Thunder, Cocktail, Color of Money, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, Jerry MaGuire (although he stays with the girl), even the Firm.

Of all his movies - Losin It is classic! Shelly Long, the kid from Bad New Bears that just was nominated for an Oscar and a bunch of horny boys in tijuana!

This formula utterly fails for Top Gun, also his best movie.

It also fails for Cocktail, because he get's the girl at the end.

Phoenixgirl

I'm lost

May 2006

MAR 25, 2007 11:12 AM

I have yet to see Magnolia...I have seen all his other movie's and really liked them all.

Cigarette

Cleveland, OH

April 2004

MAR 25, 2007 11:14 AM

_panda_ said:

adjunct said:

_panda_ said:
Before Tom Cruise went publicly batshit, and before Mission Impossible there was an essay called the Tom Cruise formula. I just surfed the web and couldnt find it, but basically it went something like this...

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

This formula utterly fails for Top Gun, also his best movie.

Wha!
It is classic Top Gun.
Kelly McGillis, love interest - adversary - hook up - go on into the sunset seperately.Val Kilmer - adversary - betrays - "ill get your tail any time". etc.

The "father figure" angle is kind of turned on its head in Top Gun, what with his father being dead, but his father's legacy being a hindrance to him.

adjunct

Philadelphia, PA

July 2002

MAR 25, 2007 12:42 PM

_panda_ said:

adjunct said:

_panda_ said:
Before Tom Cruise went publicly batshit, and before Mission Impossible there was an essay called the Tom Cruise formula. I just surfed the web and couldnt find it, but basically it went something like this...

all Tom Cruise Movies (80s - Early 90s) have the same formula.

Tom Cruise plays a character who has the drive, but not the means to succeed.
He has a father figure that is usually a coach, boss or other.
He has a love interest that usually begins as an antagonist.
He has an antagonist that creates competetive drive.
At the pinnacle of the movie, his father figure in some way betrays him.
This motivates his competetive drive and brings the love interest in as not only a catalyst but helper. His gains respect from his adversary and together they compete against the father figure, still in some competetive roll wiht each other, where somewhere in the action scene they align interests.
At the end he wins, reconciles with the father figure, gets a high five from the adversary, and generally does not keep the girl, who parts with a smile on her face.

This is true for Taps, The Outsiders, Losin It (although he wasnt the leads), Risky Business, All the Right Moves, Days of Thunder, Cocktail, Color of Money, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, Jerry MaGuire (although he stays with the girl), even the Firm.

Of all his movies - Losin It is classic! Shelly Long, the kid from Bad New Bears that just was nominated for an Oscar and a bunch of horny boys in tijuana!

This formula utterly fails for Top Gun, also his best movie.

Wha!
It is classic Top Gun.
Kelly McGillis, love interest - adversary - hook up - go on into the sunset seperately.Val Kilmer - adversary - betrays - "ill get your tail any time". etc.

But the father figure (his actual father) not only doesn't betray him, it turns out he died heroically, and he finds this out just before the climax of the movie.

lowroller

Australia

May 2008

JUN 11, 2007 05:53 AM

Magnolia - but I'm sure it has nothing to do with Tom Cruise being in it. Still, I'll give him credit for his role in it. He played it well.

PointBlank

New York, NY

November 2004

JUN 11, 2007 06:34 AM

Taps.

Lemonkid

Canada

May 2003

JUN 11, 2007 09:04 AM

Eyes Wide Shut.

Come on people, seriously.

Chainlink

Key West, FL

August 2005

JUN 11, 2007 09:18 AM

I'm going to have to agree with you there Subrosa, he was kickin it back in the day.

I'll always try to remember him as . . .

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

and. . .

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

instead of

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

ah, . . . I miss the good olde days *sigh*

MessyJessy

Fort Myers, FL

August 2005

JUN 11, 2007 09:19 AM

A Few Good Men...hands down.

Does Aunt Ginny have a barn? We could hold the trial there. I can sew the costumes. Maybe his Uncle Goober could be the judge.

Chainlink

Key West, FL

August 2005

JUN 11, 2007 09:21 AM

Lemonkid said:
Eyes Wide Shut.

Come on people, seriously.

That may have been the last film I could stomach him in. It was a fantastic film, and I also love Kubric, but I already felt Tom was well on his way to total assholedom by then.

VioletRed

Ferndale, MI

October 2004

JUN 11, 2007 09:24 AM

the color of money...his only good movie.

Tiger_Fodder

Braintree, MA

June 2007

JUN 11, 2007 09:50 AM

I can truly say I never liked him, even when everyone did. So the answer is None!

Cash

USA

OLD SKOOL

JUN 11, 2007 02:24 PM

Subrosa said:
I am implying simply that, at present, Colonel Markinson is not alive.

Are the colonel's underpants a matter of national security?

RubberSoul

Los Angeles, CA

February 2003

JUN 11, 2007 02:52 PM

Trapped In The Closet.

Mement0mori

Chile

May 2007

JUN 11, 2007 03:24 PM

Far and Away

ckdexterhaven

USA

December 2005

JUN 11, 2007 03:40 PM

I've always been a Tom Cruise fan. His movies are fun. My faves:

Days of Thunder or Born on The 4th of July. Depending on my mood.

Eyes Wide Shut was crap. IMO

BOARDS:

TOPICS:

Baton Rouge, LA

January 2006

MAR 25, 2007 12:20 AM

Washington, DC

January 2006

MAR 25, 2007 06:03 AM

USA

August 2006

MAR 25, 2007 06:50 AM

meatpieboy

Korea, D.P.R.

June 2004

MAR 25, 2007 07:18 AM

USA

February 2004

MAR 25, 2007 07:29 AM

I'm lost

November 2005

MAR 25, 2007 08:28 AM

Bridgewater, MA

July 2003

MAR 25, 2007 10:40 AM

Phoenixgirl

I'm lost

May 2006

MAR 25, 2007 11:11 AM

Phoenixgirl

I'm lost

May 2006

MAR 25, 2007 11:12 AM

Cleveland, OH

April 2004

MAR 25, 2007 11:14 AM

Philadelphia, PA

July 2002

MAR 25, 2007 12:42 PM

Australia

May 2008

JUN 11, 2007 05:53 AM

New York, NY

November 2004

JUN 11, 2007 06:34 AM

Canada

May 2003

JUN 11, 2007 09:04 AM

Key West, FL

August 2005

JUN 11, 2007 09:18 AM

Fort Myers, FL

August 2005

JUN 11, 2007 09:19 AM

Key West, FL

August 2005

JUN 11, 2007 09:21 AM

Ferndale, MI

October 2004

JUN 11, 2007 09:24 AM

Braintree, MA

June 2007

JUN 11, 2007 09:50 AM

Cash

USA

OLD SKOOL

JUN 11, 2007 02:24 PM

Los Angeles, CA

February 2003

JUN 11, 2007 02:52 PM

Mement0mori

Chile

May 2007

JUN 11, 2007 03:24 PM

USA

December 2005

JUN 11, 2007 03:40 PM