Highly entertaining flick about a bunch of a-holes

Rating: 7/10 (19 November 2015)

This is one of those Marmite things - a well-made, entertaining film that may still leave you feeling that you've just been conned out of your money. It follows the general pattern of Scorsese' "Goodfellas": we are invited to a vivisection of the twisted life-story of a thug, with all the accompanying over-the-top theatrics. Here, however, instead of ruthless perversions of a life of killing and crime, we get a life of coke, Quaalude, and sex. The pace is often unbearable, but well suited to the story being told. Which still doesn't change the fact that the film ultimately glorifies the oneupmanship of a petty thief without really batting an eye. As far as the artistic value is concerned, this is a notch or two below "Goodfellas." You can probably make the same movie yourself if you patiently scroll through Dan Bilzerian's Instagram. There's very little room here for reflection, not only in a moral sense (which I don't care much about), but also in the sense of the development of characters. DiCaprio is well versed in this kind of fare and his acting doesn't really stand out. (In fact, Jonah Hill may be the stand-out performer.) At times, this gets really depressing, as when Matthew McConaghuey easily upstages Leo during the briefest of cameos. Or when Rob Reiner basically embodies the generational (and ethical) difference between the con-men of the 80's and the wheeler-dealers of the 70's. This is also why the film can still satisfy. Other than the pure showiness and shallow theatrics, it does include some fine acting and writing. The rest is well summed up by that YT video of all instances of the f-word in the film.