The Wolf of Wall Street Review
By David Kempler
Howling Wolf of Excess Street
Martin Scorsese goes back to the well of some of his greatest successes in "The Wolf of Wall Street". Just like in his landmark film, "Goodfellas", Scorsese has his lead character serving as narrator while he is also on-screen acting.
There were moments where Leonardo DiCaprio practically channeled Liotta in "Goodfellas". The comparisons don't end there. "Goodfellas" is based on the ramifications of a real-life heist by the mob. "The Wolf of Wall Street" is based on the ramifications of a real-life business scam on Wall Street. The distinctions in terms of evil between the two stories are somewhat blurred. That in a nutshell is the point.
Jordan R. Belfort was a stockbroker who was convicted of crimes related to stock market manipulation and running a penny stock boiler room. He is famous for living life to absurd excess, where it was common for him and his partners to have hookers in the office while everyone was doing drugs. Through various scams, he became a very rich man. It all fell apart and he ended up spending 22 months in prison. "The Wolf of Wall Street" relates his rise and inevitable fall and is based on Belfort's book of the same name.
At its beginning, Jordan is seen as a wide-eyed young man attempting to make his million on Wall Street. On his first day on the job, one of the big shots at the company takes him to lunch. The boss pulls out cocaine and starts snorting right at the table. He then instructs Jordan that in order to succeed in this arena, one must masturbate at least twice a day. Clearly, this is not going to be a tale of subtlety. Soon afterwards, the market crashes and Jordan is looking for a job.
After seemingly a few scant moments pass, Jordan has opened a penny stock boiler room. A few more moments pass and Jordan is running an enormously successful business based on ripping people off. From there, excess is the keyword. No drug goes unexplored. No good-looking woman goes untouched. It is party time like one might imagine Roman orgies played out.
When everything finally crashes, Jordan finds himself with the choice of accepting his fate with the Feds or turning on his associates, just like Liotta's character in "Goodfellas". The unraveling of everything ensues.
"The Wolf of Wall Street" is enormous fun, if way too long, clocking in at three full hours. Supposedly, Scorsese edited it down from four hours. Some will be offended by the language, as it is rumored to have the most F-bombs ever, including adult films. If that is of no concern to you and you enjoy debauchery of any and every kind, this wolf will leave you howling with delight.
