Excessive Scenes of Debauchery Highlight a Lack of Substance

Rating: 4/10 (10 January 2014)

While the goal of this film was apparently to highlight the negative aspects of capitalism, it relies on scene after scene of sex and drug use to propel the story forward. Like the shallow characters portrayed, the movie has trouble finding meaning or a message.
Many of the negative consequences of Belfort's actions are cast into a "funny" light, while at the same time detail is placed into the explicit sex scenes and the highlighting of drug use in practically every other scene. It's very hard to see the movie viewing infidelity or excessive drug use in a negative light.
If Scorcese was trying to make a statement, then the movie should have had a strong message. Some will say that the movie should not force feed a message to the viewer, but I still think Scorcese could have tried a bit harder, especially if this movie was suppose to have an anti-Wall Street message. Instead it seems a collection of stories you would hear about from some fratboy's crazy times in college, i.e. something to be idolized and reminisced on, rather than highlighting a dark period in someone's life.
The real-life Belfort got millions of dollars for his life story and 100 million dollars was invested in making this movie. That alone suggests that society has given this scumbag more attention and wealth than he deserves. Was Scorcese trying to showcase the ills of Wall Street or the ills of Hollywood directors idolizing scumbags through vague storytelling and shock factor?