The Wolf of Wall Street Review

If you were to make a list of the most hated professions in the United States, the top of that list would be anything that has to do with Wall Street. Brokers, investment bankers, corporate layers, ect.; the average person looks at these guys and see money grubbing bastards who steal from everyone and give to themselves. Now I know stereotyping isn't a good thing to do, but some of these people do fit that stereotype. I think it all comes down to the American dream, be as successful as you can be and make as much money as you can. Capitalism is a somewhat broken system, for some to thrive others have to fail. All these Wall Street guys just figured why should they have to be the ones to fail. The Wolf of Wall Street takes place between the late 80's and mid 90's and follows the true story of Jordan Belfort. Jordan moved to New York in his early 20's in order to become a stock broker, he grew up poor and had dreams of making the big time; but after a financial crash the firm he was working at shuts down. While looking for a new job he finds out about a system of stocks nicknamed "penny stocks." These are the stocks that are sold for almost nothing and aren't important enough to really make it on Wall Street. He learns that penny stocks have a 50% commission for the broker as compared to normal stock which is only 1%. Jordan is very good at what he does and starts making more money than he knows what to do with. Not long after he opens his own stock firm, and soon after that he starts finding holes in the system that allows him to make even more money. Over the years he also develops a serious drug problem that constantly impacts his everyday life. One day Jordan gets a tip that the FBI is looking into him for a number of crimes, and while they don't have anything they are making ground. Now Jordan is a stubborn and greedy man and refuses to go down without a fight; and what ensues is one hell of a crazy adventure. The Wolf of Wall Street is directed by Martin Scorsese who is easily one of the greatest directors of all time; he has made some of the best movies ever over the past thirty years. One thing I've always admired about Scorsese is that he's not afraid of mixing things up and trying new things. The Wolf of Wall Street is certainly different than any movie he's ever done, it's a comedy. I've always felt he was good at interjecting comedy into his movies and have always wanted to see him do a full-fledged comedy. This movie was one of my most anticipated films of the year; and to be honest, I was a little disappointed. Probably the best aspect of the film would be the acting; stars Leonardo Dicaprio and Jonah Hill do a great job in their roles. I think it's some of the best performance they've given in the past few years. Matthew McConoaghey also appears in the movie and steals each scene he's in, but he's way underutilized. In the trailer they make him look like a co-star, but in reality he's in three scenes. The movie is also well written and pretty damn funny; it had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion. The thing I think that most people will find so compelling is that The Wolf of Wall Street is sheer entertainment. Each scene is more outrageous than the last and even if you don't like it you won't be able to take your eyes off the screen. While some people will really like that aspect, it's exactly what turned me off to this movie. I just found it so eccentric and self-indulgent; it felt like it was trying too hard at times. What I found most surprising about the movie is that it somehow was not rated NC-17. I have never seen so many naked people, heard so much swearing, or seen so many drugs done in a movie; the problem is none of it felt necessary. It all has to do with making sure the audience understands Jordan is a party boy, but I didn't need to see him do lines of coke for three hours straight. The movie is much longer than it need to be, they could have cut out a solid 45 minutes of partying. The movie also gets super ridiculous at times and it can sometimes take you out of the movie and disrupts the viewing experience. This was a movie I was so looking forward to, but my hopes and dreams were shot down. I don't think the Wolf of Wall Street is a bad movie, just not particularly good, others seem to really like it so I must be on the outside for the this one. You can always tell if a movie is great when after you see it for the first time, you want to go see it again. For the Wolf of Wall Street, I don't feel that need. 

Pros: DiCaprio and Hill do a great job, well written and funny, scene after scene of entertainment.
Cons: Too eccentric and self-indulgent, much longer than necessary, gets ridiculous at times, McConaughey is underutilized.

3/5 Stars