On Christmas day, several movies reached theaters for the first time, including Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, and Mathew McConaughey.  While many might be discouraged simply by the title of the film, assuming the plot to be mainly composed of monotonous Wall Street occurrences and lifeless drama, it is quite the contrary.

DiCaprio plays the main character, Jordan Belfort, a sex, drug, and money addict who began his own stock brokerage company and made millions by engaging in securities fraud and corruption on Wall Street in the 1990s.  As his business grows, Belfort finds himself under investigation, and must face many difficult decisions in regard to his family and his business.

With all the films DiCaprio has starred in, including The Titanic, The Departed, Shutter Island, Inception, and Django Unchained, he has never won an Oscar or an Academy Award, though he has been nominated for several of his roles.  Now, with The Wolf of Wall Street, he has been honored by a Golden Globe for “Best Actor in a Comedy. This film will finally provide DiCaprio with the recognition he deserves for this insanely “wicked” and certainly rawest film.  One particular scene to keep in mind is when DiCario’s character takes an excess amount of Lemmons, a powerful sleeping aid no longer on the market, and enters this euphoric state in which he almost makes the viewer feel as if they are right along with him.  In my experience, never before has there been a film that did such a realistic job recreting that state of being.

In terms of pros and cons, there is nothing negative I could possibly dream of saying about this movie.  Some critics argue that its excessive vulgarity and language is over the top, but, to me, it made the story more accurate. Everything was good.  The plot, the range of characters, the humor, everything was spot on.  most importantly, there is never a dull moment in the life of Jordan Belfort.

As for lessons to be learned from the movie, some might say that there are teachings from Belfort’s mistakes involving his money, his marriage, and his choices with drugs.  Aside from that,  the movie is meant to teach people anything. Its intention appears just to be a fun yet informative perspective into the raunchy life of Jordan Belfort.

I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who is looking for a good vibed, crazy party-type of film.  Given the non-stop references to sex, drugs, and money, the film may appeal more to young men and those who do not get too uptight when racy images appear on screen. Given its R rating, I would not recommend this movie to anyone under the age of 17.  However, the movie is overall very well-directed, and the acting was outstanding.  On a 5 star scale, I would rate this movie four and a half stars.