Casey Chong with the best Tom Cruise comedy performances…
Like him or loathe him, it’s hard to deny that Tom Cruise is one of the last true movie stars whose name alone can carry weight in terms of box-office power. His longevity at staying in Hollywood’s A-list status remains intact, despite how Hollywood has evolved throughout the decades since he landed his breakthrough roles in the mid-80s, including Risky Business and Top Gun. He has his fair share of performances that showcase his versatility as an action star (the Mission: Impossible movies) and a dramatic, Oscar-worthy portrayal seen in the likes of Born on the Fourth of July and Rain Man. And while his latest effort Digger failed to hit with critics and audiences, Cruise has also proven adept in comedies, and here we’re taking a look back at his best comedy performances…
Rock of Ages (2012)
Adam Shankman dials up the cringe factor in Rock of Ages, which is based on Chris D’Arienzo’s jukebox musical of the same name. The movie boasts a huge budget ($75 million, to be precise). Still, it doesn’t justify its astronomical cost, from undermining the star-studded cast (Alec Baldwin and Catherine Zeta-Jones looking like they don’t belong in the same movie) to the bland leads Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta, whose misguided squeaky-clean personas make them seem best suited in Glee or High School Musical rather than a rock-and-roll musical.
Yet one guy understood the assignment. That would be Tom Cruise, who plays his role straight yet hilariously deadpan as the egoistic rock star Stacee Jaxx. He’s committed to his character that pays tribute to 1980s rock excess, from his black leather wardrobe pieces to his tattooed body and eccentric personality. He even sings with his own voice and reportedly underwent months of intensive vocal training to belt out ‘80s classic rock anthems such as Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is”.
Knight and Day (2010)
Confusing title aside, James Mangold’s Knight and Day boasts plenty of snappy fun, thanks to Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz’s lively onscreen dynamic. Cruise plays Roy Miller, a wanted covert agent on the run with an ordinary civilian, June Havens (Cameron Diaz), after a corrupt CIA agent, Fitzgerald (Peter Sarsgaard), desperately wants to get his hands on the MacGuffin. A revolutionary compact-sized Zephyr battery, to be exact, that contains a boundless energy source.
Think Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible, except it was played for laughs, and that’s exactly how Cruise approaches his role here in a relaxed mode. Whether he takes down the agents disguised as passengers and flight crew on a plane while June is freshening up in the restroom or casually jumps onto the hood of a speeding car during the highway chase, Cruise’s tongue-in-cheek portrayal is spot-on. And even when he’s self-parodying his action-star image, he remains committed to performing most of his stunts as usual.
Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
All Tom Cruise needed was less than two minutes to turn his cameo into a scene-stealing performance in Austin Powers in Goldmember. Even upstaged Mike Myers before the main star himself showed up in this third movie of the lucrative spy-parody franchise. The movie kicks off with an elaborate high-stakes Mission: Impossible-style action sequence, complete with spectacular stunts that parody Tom Cruise’s death-defying physical work.
He may only have two lines, one of which is “Yeah, baby!”, but he sure nails the cheesy catchphrase. And not to forget, Cruise’s complete Austin Powers look, from his dyed wig to thick-rimmed glasses, fake teeth, and velvet suit. His cameo isn’t the only one that highlights this opening film-within-a-film segment, with co-stars like Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito making brief appearances.
American Made (2017)
2017 saw the best and the worst of Tom Cruise. The worst? That would be the misguided Mummy reboot, which failed to ignite the so-called Dark Universe franchise. Fortunately, Cruise bounced back a few months later in Doug Liman’s entertaining crime comedy American Made. He plays Barry Seal, an ex-TWA pilot who ends up working for the CIA under Monty Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson). Seal’s mission includes flying the Aerostar 600 for reconnaissance missions, acting as a courier between the Agency and Panama’s General Noriega (Alberto Ospino), and transporting cocaine for Pablo Escobar (Mauricio Mejía) and the Medellín Cartel.
Inspired by the true story, American Made benefits from Liman’s brisk direction, highlighting Cruise’s charismatic performance as the latter has a field day letting loose here. His flashy smile and effortless swagger are on full display, while bringing comedic sensibilities to his role as a pilot-turned-cocaine smuggler. One of his best scenes is when the cocaine-covered Seal nonchalantly pays a kid to ride off his bicycle after he crash-landed his plane into a suburban neighborhood.
Risky Business (1983)
Years before Tom Cruise made a career out of playing a cocky hotshot from his Top Gun days, the then-21-year-old star first broke out in Risky Business, a coming-of-age teen comedy highlighting Joel Goodson’s carefree days while home alone after his parents went on a long vacation. His most memorable moment is something we can all relate to at the time: the freedom without the parents’ strict supervision.
And in the case of Goodson, we see him pouring a glass of whiskey and Coke while having dinner at home before cranking up Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock & Roll” on his dad’s pricey stereo. What follows is his iconic slide-on-the-floor dance while lip-syncing the song in his pink shirt, underwear, and a pair of white socks. Cruise proves to be a natural at showcasing his comedic side, combining his youthful charisma and anxiety with deadpan humor, no matter whether he’s dealing with a call girl (Rebecca De Mornay) or going through an alumni interview with a Princeton University admissions recruiter while his house party is ongoing.
Jerry Maguire (1996)
That pivotal year gave us two sides of Tom Cruise: One’s an action star defying all odds in the big-screen adaptation of Mission: Impossible, and the other is trading his physical prowess in favor of embracing his comedic and dramatic sides in Jerry Maguire. The latter is among his best performances to date, even earning him a win at the Golden Globe Awards and an Oscar nomination.
Cruise plays the titular sports agent, who gets fired, leaving him in desperate mode to retain his clients. He manages to secure Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), the Arizona Cardinals wide receiver who famously forces him to shout “Show me the money!” over the phone, resulting in one of the movie’s most memorable catchphrases. Cruise and Gooding Jr.’s contrasting on-screen personalities allow these actors to play off each other well, with the latter ending up with an Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor.
Tropic Thunder (2008)
Tropic Thunder may have been famous for its mean-spirited send-up of prestigious Vietnam War movies, overbudgeted Apocalypse Now-like productions, and actors’ massive egos, with Robert Downey Jr. stealing the show as an all-out method actor who goes so far as to put on blackface. Beyond its ultra-violent action/war comedy tropes and sardonic humor, it was Tom Cruise who surprised the most. His role may have been small, but Cruise still manages to make a lasting impression as the foul-mouthed studio executive Les Grossman, whose volatile and wildly unhinged personality becomes the highlight of the movie.
He even goes method here, complete with a bald cap, a fat suit, and heavy prosthetics that nearly made him unrecognizable. Not to forget his hip-hop dance routines, notably when he goes all solo by busting a move during the movie’s end-credits sequence with Ludacris’s “Get Back” playing in the background. His role has since become so popular that there have been talks about developing a Les Grossman spin-off.
What are your favourite Tom Cruise comedy performances? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Casey Chong
