The Wolf of Wall Street

"Sell me this pen."

The Wolf of Wall Street is a welcomed return for one of the greatest directors of all time Martin Scorsese.  After the grand disappointment of the god awful Hugo, I started thinking Martin was losing it and becoming rusty.  While Wolf isn't exactly a winner on all levels, at least it was a very fun time.  Scorsese brought us such classics such as Taxi Driver, The Departed, and Goodfellas.  He's been dabbling with a lot of different genres recently, most notably the kids' film: Hugo, which was horrendous.  However, Wolf is the antithesis of that film.  This film is a rollercoaster ride of tits, drugs, and money laundering.  It's a great film, but it unfortunately has some setbacks.

So what is Wolf about?  It's about a stock broker-turned-CEO named Jordan Belfort, dubbed the Wolf of Wall Street.  He had very humble beginnings at first.  Then, the money got to him, and he went drunk with power.  Unfortunately, his recent law-breaking activities go noticed by the FBI and he's caught in a world of madness.  Leonardo DiCaprio plays our Wolf of Wall Street.  Jonah Hill plays his best friend who can get a little annoying at times.  Matthew McConaughey comes in as Leo's first boss, who teaches him the way of Wall Street.  The way is pretty simple: Get rich or Get out!  This is a recurring theme as Belfort constantly is in love with money, which hinders his relationship with his wife.  And when the police come knocking, something's gotta give.

First off, let me say that this film is beautifully shot.  Wolf's other competition, American Hustle, tried to create this sense of vibrant fun in the '70s, but it failed.  It wasn't really fun and it got a little boring.  From the second Wolf started, I was hooked.  Every shot was beautiful from capturing the beauty of Sweden to the concrete jungle of New York.  It was excellent and I had no problems.  The acting was amazing.  Matthew McConaughey was just like Nathan Fillion in "Much Ado": They were there and gone quickly.  But just like Fillion, McConaughey makes a mark.  Leonardo DiCaprio was hilarious (something we rarely see from him) as Jordan Belfort.  He's a crazy coke head and jumps everywhere.  Jonah Hill was, again, hilarious.....at times.  Then, he got really annoying (namely when he was trying to transport his money scene) and it really distracted me a lot.  But overall, it was finely acted.

Well, there's an obvious reason why I don't score it higher.....It's kinda long.  It clocks in at 3 hours and while the first 2 don't really wear you out, the last 1 kind of does.  Some jokes are repeated, and some scenes seem like they were shot together even though they happened at different times.  It feels as if Scorsese wanted to stretch the film out as long as he could so we were given a pretty long scene of Leo tripping on some strong "Lemon 714" and trying to make it to his car.  Don't get me wrong!  This scene is hilarious at first, but if you stretch a joke out too long, it does hurt a little.  Then, there's the fact that Jordan is really not a good guy.  He's a jerk, but I can let this slide because I know if I were him, I'd do some of the same things.

Overall, The Wolf of Wall Street is actually a great film for the first 2 1/2 hours.  Then, the runtime starts to show and I can't help but give it a 6/10.  Is it a must watch?  Definitely, if you are a Scorsese fan or if you want a taste of what Wall Street is like.  If you are looking for a short, less tit-showing film, look at the Teletubies film.  I'm also really shocked that this film escaped with a Rated-R rating as well.  Some of the stuff in this film could warrant a NC-17, but who cares.  Do not watch this film with your mom, though.  It will be awkward with the amount of sex shown.  However, if you're fine with sex, and want a fun good time at the theaters, Wolf will please you.  Just don't go in expecting a masterpiece.

6/10