2014
Formats
Movie theater.
Premise
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a power-hungry, ethics-bending stock broker in the 1980's. Directed by Martin Scorsese.
Loved
Matthew McConaughey chanting, Rob Reiner's foul mouth.
Liked
Hilarious dark comedy.
Disliked
Three-hour runtime.
Scorsese needs to do more comedic movies like this. His taste in politically-incorrect humor would be an acquired one, and thankfully I have a hunger for risque stuff like this.
The best part was McConaughey's small, but super-entertaining part near the beginning. His irreverent macho war chant was one of my favorite scenes. Hint: if you survive until the credits, you'll get a double-dose of McConaughey.
I laughed out loud numerous times, especially in the first two-thirds. Whether it was bravado-laden dialog or ironic monologs, it really captured the hyper-competitive, non-stop atmosphere of that world in a fascinating and energetic way. Two of the highlights were Leo panic-driving on Quaaludes and the board meeting about what can/cannot be done to little people.
With all the criminality, uncomfortable-yet-compelling characters (including a fantastic performance from Jonah Hill), and fourth-wall breaking, this film really reminded me of the themes and flair of Goodfellas.
Pretty much the entire cast rocked it. Leo was perfect for the role, putting his dickishness on full blast. Much like finding out Scorsese has a sense of humor, it was fun to see DiCaprio flourish in "lighter" affairs like this and Django Unchained. There were many familiar faces in bit parts, a la McConaughey, including Kyle Chandler and Jon Favreau. But the second-biggest scene-stealer was Rob Reiner as Leo's had-it-up-to-here/profanity-laced dad. On the amusing side, Margot Robbie, playing Leo's main squeeze, looked oddly too much like Olivia Wilde.
Personally, I was not shocked/bugged by the incessant debauchery and f-bombs. In fact, I relished it here. To paraphrase the late, great Roger Ebert: "It's not what a movie is about, it's how it is about it.” By "glorifying" despicable characters in a darkly comedic way, it actually showed the audience the immorality of their actions.
There were some similarities with Pain & Gain, such as making entertainment out of real-life criminals who hurt a lot of people. The difference was Pain & Gain kept reminding us that its story was based on true events, losing the escapism aspect, while The Wolf of Wall Street made it easier to compartmentalize the reality from entertainment.
As much as I embraced the performances, uncompromising moments, and funny writing, three hours was too much. You really start to check the clock during the last act, wondering when will it end. Having said that, I wasn't sure what part could've been omitted.
The Wolf of Wall Street succeeded in making me uncomfortable, laugh incredulously, and keeping me fascinated for the most part. I just wished it knew how to express the excess without being excessive on length.
