You know that feeling when you find an old photo of yourself from high school and you’re wearing something so embarrassing you want to bury it in the backyard? That’s basically what Losin It is for Tom Cruise. Before he was the guy jumping off motorcycles or sprinting across Burj Khalifa, he was just a 20-year-old kid in a weirdly raunchy 1983 teen comedy that almost nobody remembers.
Honestly, if you look at his filmography now, it’s all Mission: Impossible and Top Gun. It’s all high-stakes adrenaline. But there was this brief window in the early '80s where Cruise was just another young actor trying to find his footing in the "one crazy night" genre. It’s wild to think about.
Why Losin It Still Matters for the Cruise Legend
Most people think Risky Business was the start. It wasn't. Losin It actually hit theaters in April 1983, a few months before the world saw him dancing in his underwear. It’s a period piece set in 1965, and it follows four teenagers who hop in a 1957 Chevy Bel Air and head south of the border to Tijuana.
The mission? You guessed it from the title. They want to lose their virginity.
It sounds like a total Porky’s rip-off, right? Well, it sorta is, but with a weirdly prestigious pedigree. The movie was directed by Curtis Hanson. If that name sounds familiar, it should—he’s the guy who later directed L.A. Confidential and 8 Mile. Even back then, you could see him trying to do something more than just a cheap sex romp, even if the script didn't always let him.
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The Cast You Didn't Realize Were There
The movie is a time capsule of talent. Aside from Cruise, who plays the "sensitive" one named Woody, you’ve got Jackie Earle Haley. Yeah, the guy who played Rorschach in Watchmen and Freddy Krueger in the remake. He’s the high-energy, slightly sleazy friend Dave.
Then there’s Shelley Long. She was right in the middle of her Cheers fame as Diane Chambers. She plays Kathy, a housewife who hitches a ride with the boys because she’s looking for a "quickie divorce" in Mexico.
The dynamic is clunky. It’s 1983 trying to pretend it’s 1965, and the result is this strange, neon-lit version of the past that feels uniquely "early 80s."
What Really Happened With the Box Office
The movie was a massive flop. Like, a $1.2 million domestic total on a $7 million budget kind of flop. Critics hated it too. Gene Siskel called it "dreadful." Roger Ebert basically said the whole premise of young guys seeking out prostitutes was "sick."
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But here’s the thing: Cruise is actually good in it.
He plays against the "Maverick" type we all know. In Losin It, Woody is awkward. He’s shy. There’s a scene where he’s actually alone with a woman and he can’t... well, he can’t "rise to the occasion," so to speak. It’s probably the most vulnerable and un-cool Tom Cruise has ever been on screen.
Why It Disappeared From the Conversation
By the end of 1983, Risky Business and All the Right Moves had come out. Suddenly, Tom Cruise was a superstar. The industry realized he wasn't just a "teen movie" guy; he was a leading man. Losin It was quickly buried. It became the movie that fans only find when they’re digging deep into his IMDb late at night.
Even Cruise himself has hinted in interviews that those early projects were learning experiences where he realized "some people didn't know how to make movies."
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- Filming Location: It wasn't actually filmed in Tijuana. Most of it was shot in Calexico, California.
- The Tone Shift: The movie starts as a comedy but gets surprisingly dark. One character ends up in a brutal Mexican jail, and there’s a scene involving a blowtorch that feels like it belongs in a different movie entirely.
- The Soundtrack: It’s packed with 60s hits, which was a huge trend after American Graffiti, but it feels a bit forced here.
The KEYWORD Legacy: Is It Worth Watching Now?
If you’re a completionist, yeah, you've gotta see it. It’s fascinating to watch Cruise before the "Movie Star" persona was fully formed. You see the teeth (before they were perfectly capped) and the raw, unpolished energy.
Is it a "good" movie? Not really. It’s messy. It’s dated. The way it treats its female characters is... let's just say "of its time" and leave it at that. But as a piece of Hollywood history, Losin It is a vital link. It’s the bridge between his supporting role in The Outsiders and the superstardom that was about to hit him like a freight train.
Most people get wrong that he was always the "action guy." In reality, he started in the trenches of the R-rated teen comedy, just like everyone else in the 80s.
Actionable Steps for Film Buffs
If you want to track the "Evolution of Cruise," don't just watch the hits. Do this instead:
- Watch Taps (1981): See him as a secondary character who steals every scene.
- Find a copy of Losin It (1983): It’s often on streaming services like Tubi or Pluto TV for free. Watch it for the "un-cool" Cruise.
- Double feature it with Risky Business: Notice the massive jump in confidence and screen presence in just a few months.
- Look for the cameos: Keep an eye out for Rick Rossovich, who plays a Marine in this and later played Slider in Top Gun.
Understanding Losin It helps you understand the calculated career moves Cruise made afterward. He never did another movie like this again. He learned exactly what kind of star he didn't want to be.