Why “Wolf Of Wall Street” Is Disappointing
I saw “The Wolf of Wall Street” and was gearing up to tell you why I found it, in spite of some thrilling set pieces, to be mildly disappointing: uninteresting cynicism, storytelling problems. But David Denby has done the job for me: ‘I didn’t much care for “Wolf,†but every time I describe it to someone he says, “I want to see that!†Many people are going to be made happy by the wild, hyper-vulgar exuberance, the endless cruddy behavior (swindling, drugs, whoring, orgies, dwarf-tossing, more swindling), and the fully staged excess of every kind.’ Further: ‘The movie might have been as fine as “GoodFellas.†But, in general, Scorsese wears his performers out with noisy, redundant material.” But, hey, if you want to celebrate Christmas (that’s the day the picture opens) with drugs and whores: I say ho ho ho to you.
