Drugs do bad things to people. {via}
Holy f*%&.
Yeah, okay, that was on purpose. Everyone has likely heard that The Wolf of Wall Street broke the movie record for most uses of the 'F word' in history. And there was certainly no shortage of other super fun terms that are not suitable for my respectable website.
Aw shit. Who am kidding. This was a damn good movie.
In all seriousness, though, I think that it was a well-done film. The story line has been done before; it's your average terrible-rich-white-guy-destroys-everyone's-lives plot, but the cinematography was fun to look at, if a bit circus-y, and Leonardo DiCaprio and (this was a surprise to me) Jonah Hill took this picture above and beyond.
Hill is hilarious; the perfect bully, wing man, and drug dealer for Leo's character. They wobble between a Smee and Captain Hook relationship, and a Sherlock and Watson partnership, depending on how high Leo happens to be during that particular scene. I think that Hollywood needs to watch out for Jonah Hill. He plays yet another chubby sidekick here, but at the same time, he nails the layers of doubt and addiction that his character is given, on top of the fabulous douchebagery that seems to go hand and hand with being a pompous Wall Street millionaire.
DiCaprio, of course, is brilliant. He cycles so quickly between tenderness and rage, lust and desperation, greed and faith. It's like watching somebody throw darts at a board of emotions and explode into this fantastical being with no limitations. If you thought Leo was a train off the tracks in Gatsby, it is no comparison to the firework spectacular of f*%& you that he is as Jordan Belfort here. I laughed for five minutes when he was so high that he had to crawl out of the country club and open the door of his Lamborghini with his foot, and the next morning when he realized he had not made it home without a scratch after all.
Fabulous acting aside, though, The Wolf of Wall Street is an obvious commentary on wealth and Wall Street in the United States. Hard drugs, "bitches", and money gained by cheating the system. Excessive white male privilege. This is not a movie where you root for the main character despite his flaws. This is a movie where you laugh at how ridiculous this lifestyle is and fervently hope he goes to jail.
He does. For like three seconds. At a jail with tennis courts. After selling out his "friends" to the government. Rich jerks suck, bro.
I don't know if Leo will win an Oscar this year. He deserves one at some point, however, and I am excited for what he will do in the future.
I am also excited for more movies that point out BS. Kudos for that to director Martin Scorsese. Because really, does anybody enjoy BS? In the words of Jordan Belfort, "Absolutely f*%&ing not."
With love,
Laney
