Every so often a nude scene gets paired with a song that, for better or worse, ends up making it that much more memorable, and we’re kicking off the New Year right - with a strong and spicy cocktail! The 1988 film Cocktail, that is, which features young Gina Gershon and Tom Cruise having a weirdly athletic role on the hay.
Gina Gershon Nude in Cocktail
We don’t exactly know what’s happening here, but we’re pretty sure it’s where Gina’s eventual Showgirls costar got her inspiration for all that crazy pool thrashing. Tom and Gina poke their heads out of the covers long enough for us to get a nice flash of nip, then we get another peek of her right peak as she moans and rides him. You’d think that be a sign for him to keep doing what he’s doing, but then it immediately turns into a frantic tickle/pillow fight that has the two rolling off the slide of the bed.
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It could be the bubbly champagne, but perhaps it was the music playing that got them all shook up. If you listen closely, that’s exactly what the song is - Ry Cooder’s version of the Elvis Presley song “All Shook Up.” And while it could be said that the song fits the mood, in hindsight it’s probably more apt to say it fits the time and genre. The bluesy guitarist was a fixture in 80s cinema, known for scoring the 1984 film Paris, Texas, as well as being on the soundtracks of Streets of Fire, Brewster’s Millions, and Johnny Handsome. One could say white bluesmen really had a moment in the 80s as evidenced by films like Road House and The Blues Brothers among others.
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And as it’s not a slow, romantic song, it immediately lets you know that Gina’s here for a good time, not a long time, unlike Tom’s real love interest in the film, Elizabeth Shue, whoonly goes so far as to tease us with some side boob.
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Had the film been made decades later, not only would the song have changed but we may have gotten to see Gina's Cooder!
