An extremely well-done dark comedy and satire

Rating: 9/10 (4 January 2014)

Cocaine. Money. Hookers. Corruption. Just a few aspects of Wolf of Wall Street, Martin Scorsese's follow-up to Hugothat's a weird transition. Right off the bat, this movie knew what it wanted to be. A black comedy that immediately begins with Scorsese's traditional narration that perfectly fits the piece and then for a surprising change4th wall breaking which I didn't see coming but ended up enjoying. It follows the real life story of Jordan Belfort, (Leonardo DiCaprio) a stockbroker who made it big really quick. It is 1987 and he seems like a normal guy, he's married, doesn't do drugs, isn't rich but is trying to make his way up. A seemingly normal guy although we know he isn't from the start since it opens with a scene of his later life.
His boss, Mark Hanna is played masterfully by Matthew McConaughey in a small role who is absolutely hilarious and he recommends a lifestyle of drugs and sex. Unfortunately, the firm Jordan works at fails after Black Monday, he is out of luck and works at a small firm instead and that is where it all begins. Tricking people into buying cheap stocks thinking they'll make it bigand that is where the movie explodes into absolute insanity and hilarity. Giant parties filled with an obscene amount of drugs and hookers. And just scene after scene of comical material. Jonah Hill plays Donnie Azoff who is essentially Jordan's biggest partner after they meet one day and is one of the biggest pieces of comical relief in the film.
The movie has the typically great camera work that is in every Scorsese film, nothing that'll blow you away like some of the long takes in GoodFellas or the beautiful cinematography in Taxi Driver but still good nonetheless. I think the strangest thing to come from this movie and the critics of it is that the movie is supposedly condoning a crazy lifestyle portrayed in the movie with all it's drugs, sex, etc, I find that completely ridiculous. There are points in the movie where Jordan is a pathetic mess and the entire time while watching it, I was just waiting from him to become pathetic. So, I don't see it at all condoning the crazy lifestyle because it isn't and is rather satirical. The main purpose of this film is to give us a look into this man's absolutely insane life and it does a fantastic job while being extremely entertaining and fun. Overall, I think this Scorsese's funniest film, I found myself laughing through nearly all of it and just having a general good time, additionally, I loved the ending a lot because it was a nice callback to something previously in the film and gives you something to think about. Oh, and can we give DiCaprio his Oscar yet or?