A Howling Good Time

Rating: 9/10 (7 January 2014)

I'm not sure of the validity of the happenings on Wall Street that are portrayed in this film, but there's nothing too crazy that happens with the stock exchanging that hasn't been touched upon in other movies. The background of what happens in these places, and how crazy these brokers actually were are another story. It reminded me of Mad Men in the sense that you can't believe what happens behind the scenes. This makes Mad Men look a bit like the Muppets however with the amount of violence, drug usage and.midget tossing??
That being said, it is ferociously entertaining. And while I don't fancy a job on Wall Street, it certainly would've been entertaining to work in a place like this for a couple days. How it managed to exist for song long without consequence is beyond me, or if it possibly still takes place. Belfort (Dicaprio) doesn't seem to regret the harm he causes on those that can't afford the stock or the drug addiction to hundreds he is feeding, and has multiple chances to escape his decisions punishment free. The performances by Dicaprio and Hill here aren't to be missed.
The Good: Great performances, entertaining for a weaving 3 hr. drama of a stock broker.
The Bad: The adult content, wow, I don't even know how this was R- rated, I think it actually broke a record for F-word usage. I would've liked to see some more time devoted to how Belfort trained his staff and worked on selling actual stocks. There are some great scenes of this in the beginning and then we don't see anymore.