Boiler Room

Buy This Item Boiler Room by New Line Home Video  Available from Amazon  $8.99  on 8-30-2008     The intense soundtrack of <I>Boiler Room</I> is a fitting underscore for this movie, which pulses with the vigor of young, rich, amoral men wreaking havoc. This is not the antisocietal havoc of <I>Fight Club</I>, but the more deliberate mayhem that comes from greed run amok. The testosterone-junkie brokers of J.T. Marlin (the only female in the office is Abby, the receptionist and love interest, played by Nia Long) are out to make the sale, and whether that sale is legal or ethical doesn't matter.<p> Seth Davis (Giovanni Ribisi) is a 19-year-old college dropout who strives for approval from his father (Ron Rifkin), a judge who is horrified that his son operates a 24-hour illicit casino. When an old friend visits the casino with a fellow broker, Davis is impressed by their wads of money and yellow Ferrari, and decides to join the firm. In no time he's making sales and settling into the groove of the office and all the after-hours perks, but the dream fades when Davis discovers the scam that is making all of the brokers wealthy beyond their dreams.<p> Borrowing heavily from <I>Wall Street</I> and <I>Glengarry Glen Ross</I>, <I>Boiler Room</I> is at its best when dealing with matters of money, and powerful scenes of Davis learning to be a "closer" showcase the significant talent of Ribisi, Nicky Katt, and Vin Diesel. The movie flounders when developing the relationship between Davis and his father, becoming sentimental and trite. However, as a fable of modern society and a nostalgic vehicle about the days of yuppies past, <I>Boiler Room</I> is right on the money. <I>--Jenny Brown</I> Reader Reviews I really agree with the positive reviews. How can one make moral vacuity interesting? This film succeeds. The lead character is not a tough guy with a conscience like Marlon Brando in 'On The Waterfront.' Rather, he pursues his amoral path with an almost innocent gusto. Gambling. Stealing. Lying. Fornicating. Cursing. Arrogance. These are all treated as the most normal qualities in the world. The main character and his girlfriend even wonder why he sometimes has twinges of conscience. After all, aren't the guys in the film just grabbing for the brass ring, the American dream. Life's supposed to be fun, isn't it? There always have to be winners and losers, don't there? So why not be a winner? It's about money, initiative, smarts, knowing how to close a deal. It is the utter normalcy of lifestyles devoid of virtue that, to me, make this a classic of American film making. To me, it's the essence of American materialistic existence...i.e., "go for the gold." The guys in the firm are on a path to jail and, ultimately, to hell, but they don't have a clue. Even the main character is fixed on the memory that his father unaccountably slapped his face when he was ten and fell off his bike and broke his leg. His deep, endless self pity gives him the sense that he is at bottom a good human being. What do I mean? His feelings were deeply hurt when his father slapped him, so he feels he deserves sympathy from others. He sees himself as a sympathetic figure, not someone who deserves to be judged by the F.B.I., God, or anyone else. Finally, the protagonist is granted full immunity by the F.B.I. for agreeing to answer all their questions about the misdeeds of his shady brokerage firm. Like a lot of people he sees he "did wrong" after he was caught, but it is not clear as the film ends if he has experienced true remorse and learned his lesson. As the credits roll at the end, we hear his voice saying, "I need to find a job." Thus, he's still thinking about money. Hopefully, he'll be more "legit," but ethics, God, and righteous living remain categories far from his grasp. In short, he's normal, all too normal. I think this film should be required viewing in every high school and college in America.

Boiler Room Available from Amazon Price: $8.99 Updated on 8-30-2008.

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