Wolf of Wall Street

"Wolf of Wall Street"

"As Reported by Dollyforme"

Ah yes, the stunningly beautiful Margot Robbie – who was raised in Australia stars in “Wolf of Wall Street” and is about the most beautiful woman currently on the silver screen. Yes, she does appear in the film completely in the buff and wow! What a hottie she is.

Anyway, the movie is about the real-life Gordan Belfort, a Long Island stock wizard, whose brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont swindles a multitude of investors in the late 1980's. Based on Belfort's own memoirs, with a screenplay by Terence winter, who writes "Boardwalk Empire", "The Wolf of Wall Street" is a fast-paced, though exceedingly dark comedy about the ruthlessness of the highly competitive stockbroker business.

DiCaprio has never been better. It's his second standout performance this year behind "The Great Gatsby", a film panned by most critics, but in my opinion, a gorgeous effort by Baz Luhrmann. In this role, DiCaprio plays the high-roller wannabe Belfort with a manic verve and exhaustive energy. It's hard to imagine how he, Scorsese and co-star Jonah Hill kept up the pace.

After an early and very short-lived stint at a successful brokerage firm on Wall Street, which goes belly-up after Black Monday in 1987, Belfort starts over in penny stocks. Proving himself to be extremely successful in this endeavor, he and his new-found partner, Donnie Azoff (Hill), set up shop in an old auto repair garage and begin their climb into the big leagues.

To write that Belfort and his initial crew were into excesses at every level would be an understatement. His own father, Max (Rob Reiner), tries to temper his spending habits with no success. Parties, drugs, prostitutes --- you name it, they were all in the mix, and there was never enough. Even his second marriage to the drop-dead gorgeous Naomi Lapaglia (our gorgeous Margot Robbie) doesn't stem Belfort's nefarious ways.

I have always been a huge fan of DiCaprio. He's especially dynamic when preaching to the choir at the weekly sales meetings at Stratton Oakmont. He's so convinced that what they're doing is "good" that he talks himself right out of a sweet deal with the government. Belfort cannot be stopped, and neither can DiCaprio. He revels in this guy's obsessiveness.

Equally addicted and addictive is Hill, portraying the whiny, paranoid wingman, Azoff. This would be a plum role for anyone but I'm not sure anyone except Hill could have jumped off the screen and made Azoff his own as well as Hill. Both DiCaprio and Hill would be in line for Oscars, were it not for the likes of Ejifor and Leto in front of them.

Matthew McConaughey has a terrific cameo as Belfort's first boss in the stock market world. His lunch scene with DiCaprio, shown in part in the trailers, is worth the price of admission alone, This guy can do no wrong.

Though Scorsese's work with DiCaprio has produced no gold statuettes for Leo, their efforts have been greatly appreciated. DiCaprio seems to be the Paul Newman of his generation --- many times Oscar-nominated but no win until much later in his career. That's okay, though, because I believe he has a Best Actor Oscar coming one day. Until then, it will be one award-worthy performance after another.