I’m not completely sure this movie was good.\u00a0 I think it was, but I’m still not sure.\u00a0 However I do know one thing:\u00a0 It was in-FUCKING-sane.<\/p>\n
This movie was a true story.\u00a0 Jordan Belfort is a real person.\u00a0 Stratton Oakmont was a real company.\u00a0 I read Jordan’s autobiography, which is even more insane than the movie.\u00a0 But I digress.<\/p>\n
The movie is framed almost as a companion piece to Goodfellas<\/em>.\u00a0 We have the same almost gleeful narration by the main character.\u00a0 Who’s not at all repentant.\u00a0 He’s sorry he got caught.\u00a0 Good old Marty Scorsese and writer Terrance Winter (Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire<\/em>) give us a powerful narrative and sneakily call all of us out.<\/p>\n Jordan rises in the financial industry by 1st pushing penny stocks as if they were good investments (the commission on them is 50% as opposed to 1% on stocks traded on the NYSE or other actual exchanges), then having established his company, using his traders to push stocks he wants (and secretly owns) thereby driving up their value, then finally by secretly taking ownership stakes in companies before taking them public.<\/p>\n He commands absolute loyalty from his employees (followers) by being open handed with his ill gotten gains and creating a highly pornographic workplace.\u00a0 I’d almost want to work there but I’d either overdose or get the clap inside 3 weeks.<\/p>\n His rise is meteoric and so is his fall.\u00a0 But the real problem is us.\u00a0 What do we do when we hear his story?\u00a0 We want to learn how he did it.\u00a0 So we can strike it rich.\u00a0 After Marty calls Jordan out for being a piece of shit, he calls us out for letting him.<\/p>\n Jordan lost all his money and family and went to jail.\u00a0 He sold out all his loyal employees to the FBI.\u00a0 But he wrote a book about what he did that sold a metric shitload and he travels around the world being paid multi-thousands of dollars per appearance to teach people how to sell (manipulate).\u00a0 Most of us want to be like him.\u00a0 I mean not me, I’m a pillar of morality.<\/p>\n But, like in Goodfellas<\/em>, we don’t really care about the tragic fall.\u00a0 We’re in it for the sex, drugs, and rocknroll.\u00a0 After watching the movie, I really really want to have a quaalude.\u00a0 There’s a scene involving several ludes that have a “slow fuse” that is immediately classic.<\/p>\n Jonah Hill is actually an actor folks.\u00a0 He showed us in Moneyball<\/em> and confirms it here.\u00a0 He holds his own with heavyweights.\u00a0 He plays the worst human being most of us have ever seen.\u00a0 And frankly, it’s hilarious.<\/p>\n Jon Berenthal (Walking Dead<\/em>) gives a great turn as Jordan’s drug dealer.\u00a0 His character is also probably the best salesman in the movie.\u00a0 But he doesn’t need Wall St, he makes too much money with quaaludes.<\/p>\n And Margot Robbie.\u00a0 Good God she’s great in this film.\u00a0 1) the aussie absolutely nails the bay ridge accent.\u00a0 2) She’s hot as all hell.\u00a0 3) Besides her looks she is an absolute seductress.\u00a0 And apparently and aspiring dominatrix (the character not the real girl, outside of my brain anyway).\u00a0 And even if all that weren’t true, she’s a very talented actress.<\/p>\n Enjoy this carnival ride of debauchery.\u00a0 Try and catch the point but it’s not necessary for enjoyment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I’m not completely sure this movie was good.\u00a0 I think it was, but I’m still not sure.\u00a0 However I do know one thing:\u00a0 It was in-FUCKING-sane. This movie was a true story.\u00a0 Jordan Belfort is a real person.\u00a0 Stratton Oakmont … Continue reading