The Wolf of Wall Street
3.5/4
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Rob Reiner, Kyle Chandler, Joanna Lumley, Jean Dujardin
Rated R for Sequences of Strong Sexual Content, Graphic Nudity, Drug Use and Language Throughout, and for Some Violence
If you can imagine "Goodfellas" as a raunchy sex comedy, you'll have some idea of what "The Wolf of Wall Street" is like. It follows the formula of his 1990 gangster classic to the letter, although the specifics are polar opposite. It's just as R-rated (in fact, it's only the names of Martin Scorcese and Leonardo DiCaprio on the marquee that keep this from getting an NC-17...and what they mean by "sequences of" is beyond me, since if there was any more it could be called a porn flick).
Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio) arrives in New York City seeking to make his fortune in the stock market. He learns all he needs to know from a trader named Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey in what is sadly little more than a cameo). He's all set to be a hotshot until the stock market crashes and the firm closes. So he decides to go to a small company that sells penny stocks to suckers. With the skills he's learned from Mark, he blows the minds of everyone working there. Then he decides to open up his own company, and with methods that are blatantly illegal, he becomes a stock market hotshot almost overnight. He and his partners, which includes Donnie Azoff (Hill), a nutso family man and his father Max (Reiner) are making so much money they don't know what to do with. Soon enough, he catches the attention of FBI agent Patrick Denham (Chandler), who is eager to take him down.
Martin Scorcese is doing for Leonardo DiCaprio what he did for Robert DeNiro from the 1970's to the mid-1990's, which is to say, show the audience what a force of nature he is on screen. While it's not his best performance (that goes to his most famous role as Jack Dawson in "Titanic"), but it's up there.
Present in just about every scene, the film essentially lives and dies on DiCaprio, and he nails it. He plays Jordan Belfort as a cross between a Christian revivalist and a frat boy. Jordan is both electrifying and charismatic, but he's also immature and narcissistic. Most importantly (and in a testament to his talent), he gets us to like this character despite the fact that he is a corporate monster. Able support is provided by Jonah Hill, who plays his right-hand man (and is more insane than he is). Newcomer Margot Robbie is great as his bombshell wife, making her into more than a bimbo bombshell.
Comedy isn't the first genre that comes to mind when one thinks of Martin Scorcese. Typically, he makes grim thrillers like "Taxi Driver," "The Departed" or the aforementioned "Goodfellas." I was actually pretty disappointed when I heard this was a comedy, thinking it would be an arthouse comedy (of sorts). I was dead wrong. This is a consistently outrageous and hilarious comedy with at least three sequences that are explosively funny. At three hours, it's very long for a comedy (most run long in the tooth at more than 90 minutes). But Scorcese has a story to tell that has something to say, and that not only allows for a longer laugh time, but provides a richer comedic experience.
As good as the film is, it's not perfect. The main problem is that, as enjoyable as this film is, it's about 10 minutes too long. The film's funniest sequence, which involves drugs, a car and a phone call, is a case in point. With a little tightening at the scripting or editing stage, this sequence would be perfect.
The bottom line is that this is a very good movie. Easily the funniest comedy of the year, and one of the best films of the year. It didn't do well in the Golden Globe nominations, which are generally considered a precursor for the Oscars, but expect the Academy to hand it a few nominations. A Best Actor nod is virtually guaranteed for DiCaprio (and maybe a win? Finally?), and a Best Picture nod is almost a certainty. It will certainly rank highly on my Top 10 list at the end of the year.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Rob Reiner, Kyle Chandler, Joanna Lumley, Jean Dujardin
Rated R for Sequences of Strong Sexual Content, Graphic Nudity, Drug Use and Language Throughout, and for Some Violence
If you can imagine "Goodfellas" as a raunchy sex comedy, you'll have some idea of what "The Wolf of Wall Street" is like. It follows the formula of his 1990 gangster classic to the letter, although the specifics are polar opposite. It's just as R-rated (in fact, it's only the names of Martin Scorcese and Leonardo DiCaprio on the marquee that keep this from getting an NC-17...and what they mean by "sequences of" is beyond me, since if there was any more it could be called a porn flick).
Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio) arrives in New York City seeking to make his fortune in the stock market. He learns all he needs to know from a trader named Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey in what is sadly little more than a cameo). He's all set to be a hotshot until the stock market crashes and the firm closes. So he decides to go to a small company that sells penny stocks to suckers. With the skills he's learned from Mark, he blows the minds of everyone working there. Then he decides to open up his own company, and with methods that are blatantly illegal, he becomes a stock market hotshot almost overnight. He and his partners, which includes Donnie Azoff (Hill), a nutso family man and his father Max (Reiner) are making so much money they don't know what to do with. Soon enough, he catches the attention of FBI agent Patrick Denham (Chandler), who is eager to take him down.
Martin Scorcese is doing for Leonardo DiCaprio what he did for Robert DeNiro from the 1970's to the mid-1990's, which is to say, show the audience what a force of nature he is on screen. While it's not his best performance (that goes to his most famous role as Jack Dawson in "Titanic"), but it's up there.
Present in just about every scene, the film essentially lives and dies on DiCaprio, and he nails it. He plays Jordan Belfort as a cross between a Christian revivalist and a frat boy. Jordan is both electrifying and charismatic, but he's also immature and narcissistic. Most importantly (and in a testament to his talent), he gets us to like this character despite the fact that he is a corporate monster. Able support is provided by Jonah Hill, who plays his right-hand man (and is more insane than he is). Newcomer Margot Robbie is great as his bombshell wife, making her into more than a bimbo bombshell.
Comedy isn't the first genre that comes to mind when one thinks of Martin Scorcese. Typically, he makes grim thrillers like "Taxi Driver," "The Departed" or the aforementioned "Goodfellas." I was actually pretty disappointed when I heard this was a comedy, thinking it would be an arthouse comedy (of sorts). I was dead wrong. This is a consistently outrageous and hilarious comedy with at least three sequences that are explosively funny. At three hours, it's very long for a comedy (most run long in the tooth at more than 90 minutes). But Scorcese has a story to tell that has something to say, and that not only allows for a longer laugh time, but provides a richer comedic experience.
As good as the film is, it's not perfect. The main problem is that, as enjoyable as this film is, it's about 10 minutes too long. The film's funniest sequence, which involves drugs, a car and a phone call, is a case in point. With a little tightening at the scripting or editing stage, this sequence would be perfect.
The bottom line is that this is a very good movie. Easily the funniest comedy of the year, and one of the best films of the year. It didn't do well in the Golden Globe nominations, which are generally considered a precursor for the Oscars, but expect the Academy to hand it a few nominations. A Best Actor nod is virtually guaranteed for DiCaprio (and maybe a win? Finally?), and a Best Picture nod is almost a certainty. It will certainly rank highly on my Top 10 list at the end of the year.
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