Review of Wall Street (1987) by Dustin D — 30 Dec 2018
Wall Street is a superb morality tale that accurately reflects the attitudes of Wall St. tycoons while amusingly highlighting the excesses of the '80s. Bud Fox splurges on a Manhattan apartment and immediately overpays for cheap and tacky faux exposed brick walls (which he staples up).
An automatic sushi maker appears on his counter. He is so absorbed in making money he can't slow down and enjoy the things or women he buys. Gordon Gekko is like Mitt Romney with Donald Trump's instincts.
He is clearly a villain, which is why I'm surprised so many people on Wall St. even today see him as something of a role model, modeling their own dress and demeanor after him. Just enough is revealed about his past to make him believable (he is touchy about the subject of his mother, he went to a cheap college), without trying to make us feel sorry for the psychopathic character.
Gekko regurgitates the attitudes of the Wall St. elite in a way that seems authentic. He channels Ayn Rand with his famous "Greed is good" line. He rails against the end of the gold standard, the rise of labor and laments the fall of gilded age tycoons.
He is not a capitalist, he is a parasite. (Sir Larry represents more traditional capitalists.) Wall Street remains an entertaining and relevant movie.
This review of Wall Street (1987) was written by Dustin D on 30 Dec 2018.
Wall Street has generally received positive reviews.
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