I finally saw "The Wolf of Wall Street."

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Great acting. Great writing. Great directing.

Reprehensible characters. Pretty much all of them. The main character was probably as repulsive as anything you'll see in the movies.

I swear, Martin Scorsese has a knack of making very good movies with zero likeable characters in them. I felt the same way about "The Wolf of Wall Street" as I did about "Goodfellas"--objectively speaking, a very good movie but I just hated every single character in both those movies. So I had a hard time connecting with it, despite the film's success.

The saddest thing about it is that--like Goodfellas--it's based on a true story and a real person.

[yeoman6987]

1. Yep! I actually liked Goodfellas more

Leo over acts sometimes. True story for sure. The guy got out of jail and is a millionaire again but doing it legally this times (supposedly). Some people just have that charisma that makes them a success no matter what adversities come their way. He seems like one of the types that rises above negative circumstances. Not me. I have to work for every nickel.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. What I don't understand about people like Madoff and Belson

What I don't understand about people like Madoff and Belson is that they are so gifted that they could have made more money than most folks dream of legitimately but choose not to.

Maybe Springsteen nailed it when he sang "poor man wants to be rich, rich man wants to be king."


BTW, loved Reiner when they were discussing women's grooming of their nether parts.

[unblock]

4. and the king ain't satisfied 'til he rules everything!

[Initech]

3. I really wonder how those guys didn't die multiple times in that movie.

Whether it was them overdosing on that experimental drug, or TV steering their massive yacht into that typhoon.

[JustAnotherGen]

5. I loved it

In all its horrifying glory - I loved it.

If you want a more subtle version - check out the movie Boiler Room with Giovanni Ribisi. That one is told from the perspective of the Belfort employee.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. I really liked Boiler Room.

Excellent recommendation, I second it.

[Pisces]

7. Power and money corrupt. Imagine being 21 and having a million dollars. Your brain would be

on overload if you came from nothing. I think we recognize how easy it would be to go down the rabbit hole. Just
like some have addictive personalities to drugs and alcohol, I'm sure money and adrenaline are another form.

I personally liked the movie and can see how easy it would be for some to go crazy. Of course the other thing is
that this guy went to jail who wasn't truly part of the club. The big boys never see a jail cell. It was tolerable to bring
this plebe back down to the gutter.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

8. Yeah, but it was a slap on the wrist.

IIRC, it was less than three years. After he got out, Belfort went into the motivational speaking business. Even had a cameo in the movie as the person who introduced his alter ego giving the motivational speech at the end of the movie.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

9. The saddest thing happened this afternoon.....

Curious about the story, when I went to Barnes and Noble on my lunch break I figured I would take a quick look at the Jordan Belfort confessional that the movie was based.

I immediately figured it would be in the "True Crime" section of the store.

It wasn't. It was in the "Business Profiles" section of the store, right next to all the other business people who have written books about their secrets of success.

Kind of a sad commentary on the situation, wouldn't you agree?

[MoonRiver]

10. Felt like taking a shower after watching "The Wolf."

And yeah, it's pretty horrifying that these people really exist, probably many more than we want to believe.