Golden Globes Project - The Wolf of Wall Street

The Wolf of Wall Street stars Leonardo DiCaprio with direction by Martin Scorsese. The film tells the story of Jordan Belfort's rise and fall within the world of the stock broker. In my opinion, the movie has garnered all of its accolades based on the names and reputations of its actors and director. The film had little that was award worthy in my estimation.

First things first, this movie is LONG! By the time we entered the second hour of the story, I was just ready for Belfort to be arrested. Enough already! I was turned off from the outset by the excessive use of vulgarity. A scene early in the film between DiCaprio and Matthew McConaughey's characters was filled with language that would make a sailor blush. While the scene itself was effective, the constant barrage of unseemly language reduced the emotional power of the words.

So no one thinks I'm just a language prude, I was further offended by the unnecessary nudity and worship of drug use in the film. While I understand that women and recreational drugs were part of Belfort's life (and demise), I think that the constant use of cocaine and other drugs were treated as a comedic trick and something to be lauded.

The Globes have also confused me in their categorization of the film. Why is this movie considered a comedy? The Wolf of Wall Street certainly fits the bill for a tragedy; calling it a comedy simply points out the depravity of our society and the foreign press' willingness to toss nominations at film makers based solely on their past successes.