Jack_Sunshine

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The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Directed by Martin Scorsese; Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Rob Reiner Rating: 4/5 The fifth collaboration between Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street tells the true story of the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio), a New York stockbroker who made it big in the wake of the financial crisis of the late ‘80s by shady and frequently illegal means. More interesting is what he does with his new found fortune: what follows is a heady tale of excess and debauchery based on Belfort’s own memoirs. Despite the more recent financial turmoil, or perhaps because of it, the image of the ‘80s stockbroker has resurfaced for a new generation. Belfort’s story strays into the early ‘90s, but the general aesthetic of the era has the same nostalgic feel, and the messages seem to be the same. Even if we openly loathe bankers, there’s a voyeuristic fascination in watching their decadent lifestyle – or what we imagine such a lifestyle to be like: high stress, fast living, dubious morality and plenty of drugs and sex to boot. The Wolf of Wall Street gives its audience a welcome window into this world. The story begins when Jordan arrives in the city as a bright eyed, newly qualified broker; having already achieved his youthful dream of working on Wall Street. After an initially unwelcome brief induction into a life of cocaine and lunchtime **** by his new boss Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) the rug is pulled out from under his feet, and he soon swaps blue chips for penny stocks, trading shares worth a fraction of a dollar from a Long Island brokerage on a strip mall. Upon realising that these unlisted stocks can fetch a much higher commission than blue chips, he decides to go into business with a bunch of unscrupulous buddies who know a thing or two about sales, using their silver tongues to make millions by trading them on a massive scale, all the while trying to stay one step ahead of the law. For in truth he is committing outright stock fraud – the details of which are fairly complicated; even Belfort himself chooses not to bore us with the details with his tongue in cheek narration. The stellar cast is rounded out by players including Jonah Hill, as Belfort’s toothy associate Donnie, Rob Reiner as his complicit accountant father Max Belfort, and Jon Favreau as lawyer Manny Riskin. The movie treads a thin line between satire and glorification, but Jordan is undoubtedly the hero of the piece, and the FBI agents on his trail the antagonists he must outwit. As an audience, we are invited to his party, and we witness nothing of the effects that Belfort’s deceptions have had on those who were duped into buying his shares – bearing in mind these ‘customers’ are average people parting with their savings, not huge companies dealing in huge sums of money. This disconnection effectively puts us in Belfort’s shoes: much as they must have appeared to him, they are mere voices on the end of a phone. But Jordan is not portrayed as completely heartless. No matter how large his company grows, swelled with a never-ending number of skilled and promising applicants, his loyal gang of hometown reprobates are never left behind, and maintain high-ranking positions until the end. Even when arrested, and forced to wear a wire by the FBI, he attempts to warn Donnie, rather than let him incriminate himself. Gratuitous drug use and sexual content aside, the film’s vulgarity can perhaps be summed up by its smashing of the record for the most uses of the f-word in a mainstream non-documentary film, at the rate of around three a minute. The only film scoring higher is a documentary devoted to the word. Much of the decadence is played for laughs, or at least as a showcase of extravagance, but coupled with the basic shock value of the actions themselves. One memorable sequence sees Belfort snorting cocaine to counteract the effects of a powerful sedative, paralleled with the Popeye cartoon playing on the television in the background. The film does little to condemn Belfort – although his lifestyle unravels, and he is ultimately incarcerated, any true comeuppance is minimal. This is a reflection of the truth: Belfort’s sentence was just four years, of which he served less than two, which, if the film is to be believed, were in a comfortable minimum security environment for white collar offenders. These days, he still makes a handsome living as a motivational speaker lecturing on sales technique, and of course, anyone who gets their autobiography made into a Scorsese picture starring Leonardo DiCaprio must have lucked out in the long run.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013) Directed by Adam McKay; Starring Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Christina Applegate Rating: 3/5 Perhaps it was inevitable that the long anticipated sequel to the cult film that, along with similar contemporary classics such as Meet the Parents (2000), Zoolander (2001) and Dodgeball (2004) all but defined early 2000s comedy, cementing the already burgeoning careers of its stars and making household names out of Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, et al, would have very high expectations, and be met with a certain amount of disappointment. This doesn’t have to be the case with all comedy sequels, and indeed some of the most beloved and re-watched films in my collection over the years have been back to back comedies, such as the Ace Ventura (1994, 1995) or Bill & Ted (1989, 1991) films, both of which feature sequels easily as good as the originals. Trilogies, such as Austin Powers (1997, 1999, 2002) or The Naked Gun (1988, 1991, 1994) have their ups and downs but maintain a certain level of quality throughout. Meanwhile, Ghostbusters II (1989), Men in Black II (2002) and Wayne’s World 2 (1993) are perhaps not as strong as their predecessors, but retained their talent and remain integral parts of the narrative that are by no means cast aside by posterity. Hype easily breeds disappointment, and I’m unlikely to be overexcited or giddy with anticipation when this kind of release occurs, so I’m rarely underwhelmed or otherwise. A lacklustre sequel is not a personal affront on my loyalty to the original, and Anchorman 2 is a competent enough film, a well produced, big budget Hollywood comedy vehicle for its stars. Yet as a sequel, bearing the uninspired and unnecessary subtitle The Legend Continues no less, Anchorman 2 is more like the relatively reprehensible Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) which paled in comparison to the golden original which is still enjoyed today. Both sequels carbon copy classic sequences from the original almost shot for shot, attempting to conceal their originality behind purported homage and call-backs. Though the cast was reunited, at least Airplane II had the excuse that none of the original creative talent returned. Anchorman 2 was written by leading man Will Ferrell and returning director Adam McKay, so they’re only letting themselves down. They’ve clearly tried to go bigger, under the assumption that it will mean better, making for a film that is even more surreal and absurd than the original. Even more so than the first film, Anchorman 2 is only feebly anchored in the real world, and the story shoots for a laugh so often that the whole picture becomes more of a hit and miss sketch show than a coherent narrative. Of course, this merely reflects the Saturday Night Live format under which most of the talent involved cut their teeth. This doesn’t mean it’s not funny or entertaining; far from it. The hits, after all, are still hits. At least they still have a ton of fun exploiting the ludicrous period fashion and hairstyles. Ron Burgundy himself was always an endearing buffoon, but this time around he is utterly incompetent at everything he does, including being a father. This is offset only by his relatively inspired invention of sensationalist news to win a ratings war and apparently, ice skating (an allusion to 2007’s Blades of Glory?). The rest of the returning cast continue to tread the same path as before, but as caricatures of themselves which appear even more conceited and despicable than usual, although sex-crazed Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) seems to have mellowed, remaining evermore the only sane man. Ron wins it all and loses it all about three of four times over the course of the movie, but the driving force is a critique of the aforementioned 24 hour rolling news which typifies the excesses of the American media, eschewing true journalism in favour of car chases and patriotism. The film is strongest during this satire, and weakest during the more derivative subplots which bulk to length to a rather overlong two hours. The final act comes out of nowhere just as the film is starting to drag, and then generates an entire separate arc, and the climax is yet another news team battle even longer than the first, with celebrity cameos coming thick and fast. So while Anchorman 2 still delivers a few solid laughs over the course of a couple of hours, my advice to anyone who finds it utterly unpalatable is to just try and remember that the original still exists.

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