“Omigawwd! It was heeeelllaa funny! AHAHAHAHA” was the same statement I heard over and over again regarding Wolf of Wall Street. “Really?” I’d ask. “Yesssuh. I watched it like three times at the movies!” So that meant Martin Scorsese’s flick was a masterpiece, right?
Based off Jordan Belfort’s life, Wolf of Wall Street follows Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) in 1987 as he takes on an entry-level job at a Wall Street brokerage firm. By the early 1990s, Belfort creates his own firm along with the help of his business partner and friend, Donnie Azoff, (Jonah Hill) and his own band of misfits—not to mention that he’s married to beautiful Naomi Lapaglia (Margot Robbie). Everything’s perfect for Belfort with his sex, drugs, and rolling in money, (literally). But is everything really pristine as it seems?
“The year I turned 26, as the head of my own brokerage firm, I made $49 million, which really pissed me off because it was three shy of a million a week.”
Ah, Wall Street, the classic area to poke fun at. *Takes a deep inhale of the scent of money as a wide smile spreads from cheek to cheek* Plus with Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, everything’s perfect, right? Wrong.
I’d like to stab the plot with a knife. Yes, it narrates a person’s life, however, the film is quite repetitive in its supposed ‘hilarious’ scenes of drugs and sex. I mean, once one crazy scene is over, another pops into its place with little to forward the story. I understand that the film is a black comedy—a satire—of how crazy Belfort’s life was…and? Don’t get me wrong, I love black comedies and satires, (and stupid jokes—hell, I laugh at anything), but the repetitive scenes hardly form a plot. It’s lazy and loses its ‘hilarity’ after a while. What they could have included was a scene or two depicting the effects of Belfort’s actions on innocent people. It would’ve helped illustrate the sheer extent of just how bad Belfort’s actions were. Not to mention the story drags quite a lot. It had me constantly wondering when the movie would be over.
“I am not gonna die sober!”
Furthermore, I felt no emotional connection to the characters in the film. Strange, considering I’m a huge fan of DiCaprio’s work. Many people note the flick’s supposed ‘masterful technique’ in showing Belfort’s descent into moral decay. …Really? Belfort’s character was shown to be extremely weak—having immediately submitted his will and delved into a world of greed. It was literally what-a-happy-sun-shiny-day one minute and hoping over into ooh-money-drugs-and-sex the next.
“Let me give you some legal advice: Shut the fuck up!”
On the other hand: great acting. Leonardo DiCaprio, (as usual), never fails to shine with his charisma. Jonah Hill also makes a great bumbling baboon. I particularly liked Margot Robbie. Robbie really showed me her talent as an actress—especially as a newbie to Hollywood. I look forward to seeing more of her flicks.
“Who’s Venice?” “Who? Who?” “Who? Who? What are you, a fuckin’ owl?”
I thought Wolf of Wall Street was overrated. And for this film to come from the great Martin Scorsese? What a shame. Imagine if someone who’s never watched any of Scorsese’s films gets introduced to this first. *cough* me *cough* …All I can say is wow, how people have lowered their standards. Aside from a few ha-ha’s, the jokes get boring.
Running Time: 3 h.
Rating: R
Final Verdict: C/B-