---
title: "Cocktail: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/cocktail/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/cocktail"
critics_score: 32
critics_reviews: 7
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Cocktail (1988): what the critics said

Critics' score 32 from 7 reviews: 0 positive, 1 mixed, 6 negative.

Most critics take a negative view of Cocktail, finding little substance beneath its glossy presentation. The limited praise centres on the performers rather than the story: Tom Cruise’s charm provides some distraction from material repeatedly described as predictable or thin. Radio Times credits his bottle-juggling and bartending technique, while the Los Angeles Times singles out Bryan Brown’s charisma. Slick presentation and decorative entertainment value earn scattered acknowledgement, but neither amounts to much of a defence.

The differences concern which failing matters most. Some reviews focus on shallow characterisation and unconvincing life lessons; others object to the increasingly absurd melodrama. Time Out identifies sexism as the defining problem. The accessible verdicts range from mildly dismissive to sharply hostile, with no positive recommendation. The New York Times entry cannot establish a dissenting position: its review text is inaccessible, so the available information supports no account of its praise or reservations.

## The New York Times — Janet Maslin

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 29 July 1988. 

The review text was inaccessible, so its verdict cannot be established. The available page information does not identify what the critic praised or complained about.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/29/movies/review-film-mixing-and-matching-in-the-singles-bar-life.html)

## Radio Times — Adrian Turner

Rating 2/5. 

Turner describes the film as a bland concoction despite its box-office success. He praises Cruise’s bottle-juggling and bartending technique, but finds the story’s life lessons unconvincing.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-0c41d6/cocktail/)

## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert

Rating 1.5/4. 29 July 1988. 

Ebert’s review is negative about the film. It criticizes the shallow characterization and lack of substance beneath the glamour.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/cocktail-1988)

## Variety — Variety Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1987. 

The review finds the story predictable, despite its slick presentation. It singles out the film’s sustained focus on Tom Cruise’s charm and attractiveness.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1987/film/reviews/cocktail-2-1200427630/)

## Empire — Lola Borg

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 

The critic finds the film irritating and predictable, with little to recommend beyond its decorative entertainment value. Tom Cruise’s charisma is singled out as its saving grace, while the bar-acrobatics and Caribbean romance fail to make a convincing mix.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/cocktail-review/)

## Time Out — RS

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 

The review takes a sharply negative view of the film. It singles out the film’s sexism as its defining flaw.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/cocktail)

## Los Angeles Times — SHEILA BENSON

Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 29 July 1988. 

Benson pans the film as a morally hollow, overblown melodrama that wastes its premise. She singles out Bryan Brown’s charisma as a saving grace, while criticizing the weak characterization and increasingly absurd plot.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-07-29-ca-8029-story.html)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/cocktail.md