The Wolf of Wall Street

[RyanSz 3140]

To quote Elitist Prick:

 

'Wolf of Wall Street' is a 3-hour, 1980s-set 'Caligula' directed by the guy who brought us 'Goodfellas' and 'Raging Bull.' Tell me the fuck.

 

This movie would be a fantastic diversion from the usual HDTGM films as it currently holds a 75% RT score and has become one of the most polarizing movies of the last year with its over the top depiction of life as a commodities trader. Leonardo DiCaprio gives one of the best performances of his career as the drugged out Jordan Belfort in the same vein as Ray Liotta in Goodfellas and mixtures of De Niro and Pesci in Casino.

 

There is enough WTF and did they really just do that to make a great 90 minute episode, especially with the breaking of the fourth wall that DiCaprio does by telling the audience they don't understand what the fuck is happening but to just go along, enjoy the ride and screw you if you don't like what he's doing.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

[RyanSz 3140]

And if you look close you can see Ethan Suplee doing the stereotypical white guy "I don't know how to dance" dance, the guy in the orange pants next to Leo is doing the dick slang, and Jon Bernthal is straight up checkin' out dat ass.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

The fight scene between Leo and Jonah Hill may be one of the finest action set pieces of the year, if not the decade. This movie was absolute gold, and it's fantastic that Martin Scorsese managed to make an insane 3-hour comedy that I didn't want to end, because I've seen plenty of 90-minute comedies that felt like they never would. It was nice to see DiCaprio not only channel his inner Arnie Grape with an incredible physical performance, but also discuss the preferred way to dispose of your retarded children while debating the ethics of dwarf-tossing, because they're sort of people too, and you don't want to unleash their superhuman strength.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

And if you look close you can see Ethan Suplee doing the stereotypical white guy "I don't know how to dance" dance, the guy in the orange pants next to Leo is doing the dick slang, and Jon Bernthal is straight up checkin' out dat ass.

And that BAND!

[RyanSz 3140]

Well hey now, if you were fucking your cousin you would need a backup plan in case your kids ended up being touched in the head, Hollywood should really be sending a thank you letter to Jonah "from Moneyball" Hill for the time his character took in explaining the proper way of extricating that child from your family with a quick drive to the country and a "see ya later, have a nice life."

 

I have a feeling this may be just the two of us talking about this batshit great movie, but I don't care, this film needs to be discussed. At times I think this is what Tommy Wiseau had pictured in his head when he made The Room.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

At times I think this is what Tommy Wiseau had pictured in his head when he made The Room.

I'm not so sure about that. I think the only thing "The Room" had in common with "Wolf of Wall Street" was cocaine. Mountains and mountains of cocaine. Also, if Tommy Wiseau had made "Wolf of Wall Street", I think we would have been subjected to three hours worth of that same awkward sex scene, over and over and over...

[RyanSz 3140]

Well it makes sense, Wolf is just The Room with all of the crazy subplots being completed rather than left hanging, and a lot better green screen. Tommy just had to pull back since he only had 6 million dollars for his budget.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

Well it makes sense, Wolf is just The Room with all of the crazy subplots being completed rather than left hanging, and a lot better green screen. Tommy just had to pull back since he only had 6 million dollars for his budget.

There wasn't NEARLY enough rooftop tuxedo football in "Wolf", so I guess Wiseau did manage to one-up Marty in that department.

[sillstaw 414]

On one hand, I feel like this is a great movie that shouldn't be done on "HDTGM."

 

On the other hand, the Lemmon 714 scene.

 

Also, this may be one of the few films where I think that it's the perfect length and it still could've used some trimming.

[Quasar Sniffer 4174]

I appreciate the mention, Ryan Sz.

 

I still think this movie is just too much and could have easily been 30 minutes shorter. It felt like every scene was a $150 million improv bit that went on too long and would have been exceptionally hilarious if it were just edited more... aggressively. Still, there is so much insanity and excess in the film that it could easily turn into a 90 minute HDTGM episode. Maybe have multiple guests to keep the lunatic energy flowing?

 

In any case, Matthew McConaughey is my favorite. "Do you jerk off?"

[Wien 401]

HDTGM? I know how this got made:

 

The script bounced around a bit (originally offered to Ridley Scott), but ended up being green-lit by an indie studio. Martin Scorsese ( who has a ton of positive equity still thanks to, The Departed, Shutter Island, Boardwalk Empire, HUGO...) helped pen the script originally, and when it came back around after being green-lit, he jumped on it. And he and Leo team up almost exclusively to make fantastic films, anyway. Combine this with a timely and relevant, witty and sharply written script, and boom. That's how this one got made. And it seems to be doing rather well, too. And Rightly so, I'm glad to see it.

[RyanSz 3140]

I appreciate the mention, Ryan Sz.

 

I still think this movie is just too much and could have easily been 30 minutes shorter. It felt like every scene was a $150 million improv bit that went on too long and would have been exceptionally hilarious if it were just edited more... aggressively. Still, there is so much insanity and excess in the film that it could easily turn into a 90 minute HDTGM episode. Maybe have multiple guests to keep the lunatic energy flowing?

 

In any case, Matthew McConaughey is my favorite. "Do you jerk off?"

After reading the book, I don't know what else they could have cut since the book is followed pretty closely. The only point so far that it has diverted was when Jordan Belfort takes the settlement with the SEC and was banned from running a firm, in real life he actually did walk away but oversaw some stuff behind the scenes rather than becoming uber defiant and staying in his position. All of the conversations about midgets, the different types of hookers, the goldfish scene, and others are basically word for word from the book, and just the tip of the iceberg about how insane Stratton Oakmont was.

[Quasar Sniffer 4174]

I'm just more talking about individual scenes. Sometimes they just went on too long, like superfluous jokes in a bit in Anchorman 2. I do not doubt the validity of Jonah Hill eating a goldfish or snorting coke out of hookers' asses.

[sillstaw 414]

I'm just more talking about individual scenes. Sometimes they just went on too long, like superfluous jokes in a bit in Anchorman 2. I do not doubt the validity of Jonah Hill eating a goldfish or snorting coke out of hookers' asses.

 

I love the movie, but I agree. Did we really need the five-minute scene where Jonah Hill talks about how he married his cousin?

 

At the same time, I'm kind of glad some of the extraneous stuff wasn't cut. The Lemmon 714 scene is a perfect example; most of it is unnecessary and they could have cut it down to the plot basics (Jordan learns his home phone is tapped), but doing so would mean cutting out all the drug-reaction stuff, Leo's descent down the stairs and into his car, and the analogy between Popeye's spinach and cocaine use. And how could you argue for cutting all that?