The Wolf of Wall Street - Movie Review

A few months ago my wife and I made the agonizing decision to cut cable television from our lives.  We did this for many reasons.  Primarily we cut it out because of the cost factor.  For as few channels we watched on a regular basis, it was costing way WAY too much.  We also cut it out because we found ourselves spending way too much time staring at it and not enough time talking to each other. 

We are a few months in and have survived without cable television.  And yes, we have found ourselves talking and spending more time with each other.  It’s certainly been a blessing.

In addition to spending more time with each other, not having cable television has turned us into movie buffs.  In the past, we would go to the movie theater one, maybe two times a year.  We’d rent movies only a handful of times. 

Now though, we’re able to catch up on a lot of movies that we’ve wanted to see in the past.  It’s great because our local library carries a wide selection of movies that we can rent for no cost at all. 

This past week I rented “The Wolf of Wall Street” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill.  It’s the story of New York stockbroker, Jordan Belfort, and his journey from the American dream to corporate greed. He starts out selling penny stocks and honesty to IPOs but excess achievement and wealth in his early twenties as founder of the brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont warranted Belfort the title "The Wolf of Wall Street." Temptations were for the taking and the threat of authority was irrelevant. For Jordan and his team, modesty was quickly deemed overrated and more was never enough.

I knew going into this movie that there would be an insane amount of cursing in this film, and that didn’t bother me at all.  I was surprised at the overabundance of drug use and excessive sex scenes though.  I understand that it’s all part of the story but I could’ve done without a lot of it. 

The storyline was enjoyable to follow.  To see Belfort go from an eager, young stockbroker just wanting to be able to provide for his family to a millionaire, playboy, drug addict is fascinating to say the least.

My favorite part of the movie is the lunch scene between DiCaprio and Matthew McConaughey (playing stockbroker Mark Hanna). 

Mark Hanna: The name of the game, moving the money from the client's pocket to your pocket.

Jordan Belfort: But if you can make your clients money at the same time it's advantageous to everyone, correct?

Mark Hanna: No.

Hanna seemed to take Belfort under his wing and introduce him to a side of stock brokering he never knew existed.  This was where “The Wolf of Wall Street” was actually born in my opinion.  I would have loved to see how the Jordan Belfort character evolved while working with Mark Hanna.

Overall, I enjoyed “The Wolf of Wall Street”.  It was a captivating storyline that held my attention throughout.  On a scale of 1 – 5 I give it a 3. If there was less cursing/drug use/sex scenes it would have been a 4 for sure.