Martin Scorsese, why did you pack so much action, comedy, drugs and pussy into a three hour movie? There is so much going on in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” but you managed to fit everything perfectly together.
And Leonardo DiCaprio, you deserve an Oscar so bad. This film might just get you one. The range of emotion and character development DiCaprio’s character Jordan Belfort goes through is award worthy.
From a timid yet eager 22 year-old stockbroker to a millionaire, drug-addict, and sex-addicted business owner, Dicaprio shows us the good, the bad, and the bat-shit crazy that is the life of Jordan Belfort and Wall Street.
“The Wolf of Wall Street,” adapted from Jordan Belfort’s memoir of the same name, follows young Belfort as he gets his start on Wall Street and some helpful advice from his coked out boss Mark Hanna (a brief but memorable Matthew McConaughey). When Hanna’s business goes under due to the market crash in 1987, Belfort seeks out employment at another firm. With his Wall Street knowledge and a full proof script to sell by (and a little bit of immoral, if not illegal practices), Belfort eventually comes to be the owner of his own multi-million dollar firm.
I often compared this film, based on the trailers I’ve seen, to “The Great Gatsby” but in the 1980s. I mean there is Leo and a lot of partying going on. But this film makes “The Great Gatsby” look like a child’s birthday party.
There are so many drugs and naked women in this movie, I’m surprised I didn’t leave with a second-hand high (or an STD). It is most certainly the late 1980s as sex and blow jobs run rampit through the offices and no one seems to care let alone report to Human Resources (not that it probably existed yet back then).
There are hookers upon hookers and little people in velcro suits being thrown at felt boards. The office is described by Belfort as a “mad house” and there is no better description than that. The men just get away with everything.
Well, until the FBI catches up with them. Then Belfort, his partner and buddy Donnie Azoff (an incredible Jonah Hill), and his company must find a way to hide their money in Swiss bank accounts and keep their butts from going to jail.
This film depicts the many perks of being rich. The girls, the cars and the drugs. It’s all fun and great in the beginning. Then it all starts to get a little overwhelming. It’s disgusting to see how these men think they can act and treat people however they want just because they have a ton of (illegal) money. As Hill famously says, “you got my money taped to your tits. Technically you do work for me.”
Watching the movie, I was worried Scorsese depicted this skeezy life as something to strive for, but as consequences catch up with actions I don’t think anyone will be heading to Wall Street anytime soon (expect those already working there).
I said it before and I’ll say it again: Leo deserves an Oscar for this role. It’s a long movie (180 minutes), but Leo never fails to keep us entertained. His breaking of the fourth wall to talk to the audience is a clever way of explaining the movies’ plot and keeping the audience from getting too confused with all the finance lingo.
Hill is also likely receive a nomination for his role. It isn’t all too different from his previous roles in films with Seth Rogen and James Franco, as he is still constantly taking drugs and getting messed up, but this film is a little more upscale. It is a Scorsese film after all.
Holding her own, alongside Leo and the other men of the movie, is a lesser known actress (and Australian goddess) Margot Robbie as Belfort’s second wife Naomi Lapaglia. Naomi is not just a pretty housewife but a smart gal who had her own business designing sexy undergarments before meeting Belfort. In a movie full of pretty women, mostly hookers, Robbie shines and leaves a memorable performance that’s sure to take her far in this business.
I give “The Wolf of Wall Street” three and a half out of four quailudes. This movie is long, but highly entertaining. It has already been nominated for some Golden Globes and I can see more nominations in its future. I pray that Leonardo DiCaprio gets his Oscar. Not because I love him and he hasn’t gotten one yet, but because Leo truly becomes his character. He’s not just a good actor, but the powder snorting, sex crazy, loud mouth, and money dropping Jordan Belfort.