This week, we need a stiff drink after Roger Donaldson’s 1988 movie Cocktail. How does a film get such a terrible reputation? Is there anything more ’80s than a protagonist who really, really wants to start a franchise? What did The Beach Boys do to deserve “Kokomo”?

Content warning: excess consumption of alcohol, suicide

Unanswered Questions:

• Would the film have been improved by keeping the darker elements present in earlier drafts of the script?
  
  
• Are the tensions between theory and practice irresolvable?
  
  
• Who should we credit with the relatively strong, well-rounded female characters in this film?
  

Further reading:

• Cocktail: A Novel (Internet Archive)
  
  
• Jerry Thomas’ Bartenders Guide: How to Mix All Kinds of Plain and Fancy Drinks
  
  
• Flair Bartending: A Brief History
  
  
• Vieux Carre
  
  
• Corpse Reviver #2
  
  
• The Last Star In Hollywood Definitive List Of Tom Cruise Films
  
  
• The Last Star In Hollywood: Production Schedule
  

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Join us next time as we watch the most successful Cruise movie of all time — according to the Academy, at least — Barry Levinson’s 1988 drama Rain Man.

The Last Star In Hollywood is an independent podcast produced by Elizabeth Rae and Alastair Stephens.

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