Sad truth, great comedy

Rating: 8/10 (16 March 2014)

I strongly feel unjust for Leonardo DiCaprio for leaving the 86th Academy Awards ceremony empty handed once again. This year, he was nominated for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street.
Based on the memoirs of a stockbroker swindler, Jordan Belford (played by Leo), this movie captures the gist of the nefariousness of humankind – greed, lust and pride. Watching the movie was like being on a roller coaster ride, it started off with a good pace, characteristic traits slowly being built up but still being fueled by energy and adrenaline (more like being fueled by drugs and booze). However, it might have been three hours too long for a movie that portrays the vicious cycle of things.
Apart from sharing the same theme (and the similar level of shallowness), both The Wolf of Wall Street and The Hangover were in the Top 10 movies by the American Film Institue(AFI) Awards in 2013 and 2009 respectively. Despite having the strong belief in how it is these movies about drugs and drinks that have set a bad benchmark for the social norm, I feel that it is still a privilege for our generation to have a few light comedies for us to laugh and talk about for a period of time; and The Wolf of Wall Street fulfills this role perfectly.
A glimpse of how the rich and famous live their lives- using Franklins for paper toss and snorting cocaine, literally throwing money at people; the 3 hours for when I was watching the movie actually made me lose track of the value of money. What was running through my mind at the point of time? -"How I wish I could afford to act like them."
As much as the scriptwriter did a good job of dramatizing the story, showing the audience what we would want to see in an Oscar-worthy nominee, it is sad to say that there are still certain parts of the movie that holds true in today's society. The hedgies who work on Wall Street themselves might say that the "Wolf" is just a mythical reflection on reality and that they are actually stressed and depressed and losing more hair than ever everyday. But hey, who is there to say that these very same people who are earning at least 6 figures per year do not squander money like napkins?
Ultimately, this is just another film for entertainment purposes. Being a rated-R movie, people whom this film is targeted at should be able to differentiate which parts of the movie are dramatized, which parts of the movie that are for laughs and most importantly, what is the learning point from each movie. Even horror movies have their takeaways too- never open a diary if it looks like something that is related to witchcraft. And for me, one of the most vital learning points that I got from this was to never forget where you began, especially when you're at the top of the ladder.
Based on the fact that it is an awesome comedy (and the fact that the lead male is Leo), I would give it 8.5/10.