Totally entertaining, full of testosterone and black humor

Rating: 8/10 (17 February 2014)

While Michael Douglas gave an award-winning performance of ruthless Gordon Gekko who is still haunting after all these decades, Leonardo DeCaprio shows his best performance to date of a hyperactive, egoistic yet charismatic broker who is willing to do anything to get rich on Wall Street.
I bet Leonardo will snatch the Oscar for his role here. Never would I have imagined he would play such a character when I watched the Titanic years ago. Even though DeCaprio has played a versatile of roles, I would never have imagined he could be someone like this: so abusive, arrogant, decadent, greedy, and yet confident of himself. He is just as capturing as his sales skills are in the movie.
In addition to this, his role indulges himself in drugs, women and getting rich – by any means. All these qualities do not sound very appealing but when you put these onto DeCaprio, he suddenly becomes a capturing character.
The scary part is that all these drama are based on a true story – of Jordan Belfort who helps writing the script and even stars in this movie – after he was convicted of Federal crimes in defrauding investors and served terms in jail.
It could be ugly with all these crimes and abuses but the way director Martin Scorsese and script writer Terence Winter handle it is full of black humor and you cannot help laughing and wondering in awe while learning these bitter lessons.
DeCaprio literally shines in several classic scenes – one in selling penny stocks to some innocent working class John Doe on the phone (played by director Martin Scorsese himself); another in slurring speeches and crawling into his race car after an overdose of an expired drug; another in giving motivational speeches and pushing a captive audience to sell; or talking suggestively and condescendingly to FBI agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler) on a yacht during an investigation.
When the movie first started, DeCaprio is like an innocent boy next door. But after closes his first sale and is taken to lunch by his supervisor Mark Hana (Matthew McConaughey), his testosterone gradually increases. When they are humming and pounding their chests in that Manhattan restaurant, I really feel I see two primates. Soon, we witness his gradual evolution into a wolf.
This movie is full of testosterone. Very aggressive, rough, ruthless, and corrupted even when it is portraying women. But at the same time it is fun and hilarious when you see how self-destructive, crazy and soulless these people are, in the name of making money.
The duration is over three hours but it is so engaging that it does not feel that long. What an intense life Jordan Belfort has. He, and as DeCaprio portrays, is a hyperactive, dominant, ruthless, indulging smart-ass with an extremely sweet tongue. And he never quits! He even betrays his friends and colleagues to protect his own butt. Probably not very dependable and not likable with such a horrid lifestyle. But the reality is, he wrote about his dramatic ups and downs in a book which this movie is based on and is now giving speeches around the world after he is discharged from prison.
This movie cannot be so successful without an excellent supporting cast who can otherwise very well be top comedians. Jonah Hill gives a liberating performance from Moneyball. He elevates himself here as Donnie Azoff, Belfort's second in command, someone Belfort trusts but is actually smarter than he looks. Jean Dujardin plays the role of a cunning Swiss banker Jean Jacques Saurel who has tons of tricks to launder Belfort's money. His facial expressions and heavy accent pushes the comical elements to the highest level. Beautiful second wife Naomi Lapaglia (Margot Robbie) demonstrates that a pretty and sexy woman can also act and shows a variety of emotions.
The monologues during meetings/encounters are excellent in depicting the hilarious hypocrisy of these scumbags. I guarantee you would laugh and nod at the same time.
Lots of nudity, graphic sex scenes and drug taking shots. Yet they are all relevant so keep young children away. This is entertaining and relieving to watch because you would laugh, enjoy the carefree lifestyle without having to bear the consequences. Who knows, maybe along the way you will pick up some skills in sweet talking/persuasive speaking too. Highly recommended.