Boiler Room Review
by "Steve Rhodes" (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)February 14th, 2000
BOILER ROOM
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2000 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Writer/director Ben Younger's BOILER ROOM is ANIMAL HOUSE MEETS WALL STREET, as a bunch of guys in their early twenties get rich quick peddling worthless stock.
Acting like loud-mouthed frat boys, these guys work the phones cold calling other guys to offer them deals that, correctly, sound too good to be true. With intense pressure, these supersalesmen bilk families out of their last nickel. The brokerage firm's recruiter and drill sergeant (Ben Affleck) lectures the new grunts by barking at them, "People come to work for this firm for one reason only -- to get filthy rich. That's it." And if you not willing to lie and cajole every second, you're not cut out for their firm.
Succumbing to this instant millionaire mentality, Seth Davis (Giovanni Ribisi), gives up a lucrative job running an illegal blackjack game out of his apartment. Ribisi (THE OTHER SISTER) is the movie's weakest link as he never convincing transforms from wimp to supersalesmen. In his one emotional scene towards the end, his acting comes across as awkward and staged. But the film's bright script and crisp pacing more than compensate for this weakness in the casting.
A subplot involves Seth's strained relationship with his shrill father, Marty (Ron Rifkin), a judge who wants his son to get a respectable job, such as a broker. "I'm not your best friend, that's your mother's racket," he lectures him sternly. "I'm not your girlfriend, I'm your father," Marty tells his son when he comes just wanting to talk. "Clean up your life, then we can talk."
The guys at Seth's firm, including Chris (Vin Diesel), Michael (Tom Everett Scott) and Marc (David Younger), make more money than they know what to do with, so they blow it as fast as they can on cars, booze, women, drugs, gadgets and houses. But they don't appear to enjoy it much. What turns them on is the act of making the money, not the spending of it.
Nia Long (THE BEST MAN) does a nice turn as the firm's very well compensated receptionist. She is a realist who counsels Seth to own up to what he does. "You're got to admit to yourself it's not charity work and enjoy it or get out," she advises him.
The ending is wrapped up too neatly and conventionally, but, up until then, the movie takes you on an exhilarating ride. The spirit of the film is best encapsulated in the only extracurricular activity that the guys really seem to enjoy. Like Trekkies, who watch the series so often that they can repeat all of the lines, these supercharged brokers love to gather for a ritualistic viewing of Michael Douglas in WALL STREET. They bark out the lines like cheerleaders at a football game. They worship their hero, Gordon Gekko, like a god.
BOILER ROOM runs 1:55. It is rated R for language, drug usage and some violence. The film would be acceptable for older teenagers.
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