Wall Street (1987)

 Wall Street (1987)

“The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for the lack of a better word, is good.”

(Gordon Gekko)

I will be the first one to tell you that I am not an expert at the financial system and probably will never me. If only to see the Michael Douglas performance that everyone raves about, I eventually had to give Oliver Stone’s Wall Street a watch. A complete turnaround from the Oscar-winning Platoon, Stone made a film that is not so much a criticism about capitalism, but how cynical the 1980’s were. The film is very intelligent, so some terms/statements flew over my head, but I got the gist. Despite that strike against me, I still found the film to be reasonably entertaining with a killer performance by Michael Douglas.

Coming off the success of the war film Platoon (also starring Charlie Sheen), Stone wanted to make something different. He linked up with a friend of his named Stanley Weiser and asked him to write a screenplay about the quiz show scandals of the 1950’s. During a conference, Stone decided to switch subjects and do something about the financial world. Weiser did not know much about this world (hey, like me!), so he did plenty of research. Both he and Stone did their own draft and then merged them into one tidy screenplay.

Everyone’s favorite corporate villain, Gordon Gekko is not modeled after one person but rather a composite of multiple people including Owen Morrisey (a friend of Stone’s who was busted for insider trading in 1985), Ivan Boesky (whose Gekko’s famous greed speech is based on), and Stone himself to give a couple examples. When one looks at the themes of 1980’s excess and how the battle brews between wealth/power and simplicity/honesty, Gekko comes to mind. Also, how ethics and laws take a backseat in the minds of people like him. We also get a look into the minds of the other side. Bud Fox’s father, Carl is a member of the working class as a union leader. He opposes mandatory drug testing or any involvement from these corporations. It is interesting to see Stone explore these dynamics especially in the eyes of someone living in the 21^st century.

Young Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) is a stock trader armed with ambition. He wants to be at the very top as he has been actively pursuing Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), a stock manipulator who uses inside information to make the market meet his demands. In his now infamous speech at Teldor Paper, he lives by the motto that “greed is good.” Gordon finally relents and takes Bud under his wings when he learns information about Blue Star Airlines, the company Carl Fox (Martin Sheen) works at. Everything comes to a head when Bud realizes how much trouble he is in when Gordon wants to take over the company and tear in apart by plundering the company’s retirement fund.

Stone’s film has a fantastic cast, most of which lived up to or exceeded expectations. People in Hollywood warned Stone against casting Douglas as he was seen more of a “producer” type and not a good actor. After Romancing the Stone, Douglas wanted something darker and edgier. Along with Fatal Attraction, Douglas was having a good year. Using Stone’s rapid, fast dialogue, Douglas rose to the occasion and delivered an acting masterpiece. Poor Charlie Sheen seemed like a minuscule ant next to Douglas, but I still think he delivered a decent performance. It must have been awesome acting across his father. Daryl Hannah was horribly miscast. She clearly did not want the role. She and Charlie Sheen had no sexual chemistry, and their relationship took away from the movie. On set, she would fight with her costars (namely Sean Young). The supporting performances were good; Terence Stamp as Gekko’s rival, Hal Holbrook as Fox’s boss, James Spader as one of the rising stars in the financial world, etc.

I may not have understood everything, but Wall Street is an enticing drama. If you need a reason to watch the film, stay for Michael Douglas and his fiery speeches. Being an Oliver Stone picture, this is a well-written and rather opinionated film about the state of financial world in the 1980’s. The story is told traditionally so there were really no surprises. I did think the ending felt a bit too tidy and clean. Fun fact! The film is one of the only films…if not the only film to win both an Oscar (Douglas’s performance) and a Razzie (Hannah’s performance).

My Grade: B