The Wolf of Wall Street Movie
Last night I watched The Wolf of Wall Street starring Leonardo DiCaprio. I was expecting it to be like Boiler Room and Wall Street and in many ways it was.
This movie is all about stocks and shares and how one young broker finds a way to make big money after a huge market crash punting penny stocks. Jordan Belfort begins by selling these cheap, and in most cases worthless stocks, to your average blue collar worker. That is, until he finds a way to sell them to a richer client. With the help of his friends, he builds a multi-million dollar company using techniques that are on the edges of the law and often outwith the law.
And while guys will especially love this movie (there's lots of sex and rock and roll) women may feel uncomfortable in parts. However, they will feel better when they realize Jordan isn't all that in the bedroom department after all! All I can say is 15 seconds!!
Things begin to go sideways when the FBI decide to investigate his actions. But hey that's okay because Jordan Belfort is smarter than them. Well turns out he's not. You see, he's so doped out on every drug imaginable that it leads to him having a false sense of confidence. And while this might be a great mindset to have when selling on the phone to people who really have no idea what you are talking about, trying to adopt this type of approach with a Federal Agent is asking for trouble.
In order to hide his money from the authorities, he takes a trip out to Switzerland and this is when the movie really starts to get funny. He's informed that he needs to put his money in a Swiss account under someone else's name so the account will never be investigated. He chooses to put it in the name of his wife's Aunt, as she's a European citizen living in London and can easily open an account in Switzerland. After Jordan misreads the signs and tries to make out with his favorite Aunt-in-law, she agrees to help him with his money problem. This was also really funny.
Now there's just the simple problem of getting his twenty million US dollars to Switzerland! This is anything but simple and results in him again putting his faith in a close friend. If you've every wondered what thousands of dollars look like strapped all over someone's body then this is the movie for you.
As things heat up further, any logical person would think to reduce their illegal activities and perhaps try and stay sober and away from drugs. Instead one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen in my life happens next.
Jordan is at home when one of his close friends visits him with some really strong drugs that no longer exist today. They are supposedly the strongest drug you could get from back in the 80's. They take one and nothing happens. They decide to take more. It's at this point they read the bottle and realize the pills are really old and way past their expiry date and probably duds. Of course, they take even more.
At this point, Jordan gets a frantic call from his lawyer telling him to go to the nearest payphone to talk. He drives his white sports car to the Country Club and uses their payphone. He finds out that his home phone has been tapped by the FBI, along with the phones at the office. He's advised not to talk about anything illegal or his activities in Switzerland on the phone. He tries to reply to his lawyer but at this point the drugs he's taken earlier finally kick in and he sounds like he is talking baby talk. He slumps to the floor and describes the sensation like having cerebral palsy. His lawyer realizes he's high and tells him to stay put and he'll send someone to pick him up.
Jordan's wife calls him on his cell phone to tell him his friend is acting weird at the house (who also took the same drugs) and can't talk properly. She explains that he's on the house phone to Switzerland. Jordan tries to tell her to get his friend off the phone but still can't talk properly or even stand!
The only solution is to drive home and force his friend to hang up the phone that the FBI are listening in on. What happens next is hilarious and I had tears streaming from my face. You really have to see this scene to get what I mean and will be dying with laughter while you do.
Things continue to go against the main character and he decides it's safer to run his business outside of the US. He takes his wife on the yacht and they sail to France. While there the "special Aunt" dies and he has to get to Switzerland quick to remove his money. Although he's told that there is a small storm coming he forces his wife to go with him.
Of course it's a complete disaster and the yacht is abandoned at sea when they have to be rescued by an Italian ship. Jordan looks out at the window and sees the plane he ordered to pick them up blow up from a bird flying into the engine. It's at this point he finally realizes that the omens are against him and he's not going to get his money back.
Things continue to go down hill at an alarming rate. But in the end, this movie actually reminded me a lot of Catch Me If You Can. If you watch it I think it will be clear why I think that.
If you like the look of The Wolf of Wall Street then you'll love Boiler Room, Wall Street and Catch Me If You Can (also starring Leonardo DiCaprio).
Have a sneak peak at the trailers for this movie and get an idea of the lifestyle these guys had.