Cocktail

Cocktail Movie Poster

"When he pours, he reigns."  Starring Tom Cruise as Brian Flanagan, Bryan Brown as Doug Coughlin, and Elisabeth Shue as Jordan Mooney, Cocktail was released in 1988.  Even though the movie was not a hit with critics, it was a huge financial success.  This was indicative of how having the right cast and right subject matter sometimes overrules a good story.

In this film, Brian Flanagan (Cruise) leaves the Army and moves to NYC to attend Business College.  To make ends meet, he takes a job as a bartender starts going to college, working under the tutelage of veteran bar tender Doug Coughlin (Brown).  Doug teaches Brian the tools of the trade, and soon they find themselves hired at an elite club where they showcase their talents.  After a falling out with Doug, Brian moves to Jamaica to tend bar, and starts a relationship with Jordan Mooney (Shue).  Before long, Doug shows up, causes some problems, and Jordan leaves back to the states.

Back in the states, Brian finds out that Jordan is pregnant with his child, and he tries everything to get her back, even turning down a payoff from Jordan’s wealthy father that would have allowed Brian to start his own club.  Before long, Brian’s old friend and partner, Doug, kills himself, which becomes a wake-up call for Brian.  Brian again attempts to win Jordan over, and eventually does.  Not only do the two end up married together in the end, but Brian also gets the bar he always wanted, “Flanagan’s Cocktails & Dreams”.