Welcome to the first (double-sized) episode of the Cruisin’ Thru 2019 podcast! Each week, we will be discussing a film in the sequential filmography of Tom Cruise, and for our first episode, we’re tackling two.
First things first: 1981’s Endless Love, a romantic drama that doesn’t realize how much of a horror show it actually is. As we discuss in the episode, the entire production is bananas, front-to-back, very nearly saved by the 40-second interlude in which we are introduced to “Billy,” the squeaky-voiced arsonist in jean shorts played by none other than an 18-year-old Tom Cruise. Sadly, he exits stage right pretty quickly, and the whole dreadful affair plods on to a nearly 2-hour runtime. Final verdict: 4 poop emojis and a pair of jean shorts.
Thankfully, this week we’re also discussing Taps–also 1981, this time with a much higher concentration of Cruise. Tom plays David Shawn, a cadet at the fictional Bunker Hill Military Academy and the hotheaded friend of Brian, played by then-recent Academy Award winner Timothy Hutton.
Among the things we discuss about this film is what a consummate professional of a character actor Ronny Cox is:
And, of course, the ever-elusive donk:
A little dark and a little dry, but overall a very affecting portrait of young men trying to find their place in the world, in what happens to be an extremely destructive way. Our rating, 3 bugles and one flaming Gus Fring.
Cruisin Thru 2019 