Now Playing: Greed Really Is Good

Oliver Stone and Michael Douglas have nothing on Martin Scorsese’s new based-on-a-true-story portrayal of Wall Street.

Normally, movies released on Christmas Day consist of happy holiday content, but ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ goes against that grain. It’s the anti-Christmas movie. Leonardo DiCaprio plays real-life stock market manipulator Jordan Belfort, who, in the 1990s, took advantage of investors and made headlines (and billions of dollars). Along with all of his corruption comes the depiction of a vile, graphic and vulgar lifestyle with bottomless pockets.

Scorsese removes all restraint with ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. He doesn’t shy away from any inappropriate, disrespectful, obscene, non-politically correct thing the characters do. It’s all there, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. Every foul word in the English language is featured on numerous occasions, along with every part of the human body. The film has several orgy scenes with dozens of people. We even see DiCaprio snorting lines of cocaine from bodily crevices that would never cross my mind as enticing. I’d guess that there are 50 nude actors and actresses throughout the film, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that estimate is low.

Only if you feel that you can handle three hours of graphic debauchery can I fully recommend ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. Yes, the strong sexual content and extensive drug use become repetitive, but they serve a purpose by showing just how gross this supposedly glamorous lifestyle can be. ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ may be considered a disgusting and slimy movie by those who aren’t prepared for some borderline NC-17 material. If you know what you’re going into and are okay with it, then you’ll relish all of the other elements that make it quite an extraordinary film. DiCaprio gives yet another phenomenal performance as a central character that you’ll love to hate. Surprisingly, Jonah Hill is also great in a role that just might land him another Oscar nomination. If the Academy can see through all of the grotesquerie that I’ve just described, they might even give Marty another Best Director nomination.

Rating: ★★★★½

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