Movie Review: Wall Street (1987)

September 8, 2010 / Leave a Comment

WALL STREET

BY CHRISTOPHER HASKELL
SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

“Wall Street” is the story of the inner workings of insider trading and the cruel backlash inflicted on all parties involved. “Wall Street” foreshadows the reality of the topic decades before ENRON or Martha Stewart blindsided our generation. The story follows Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) as he struggles to succeed as a stockbroker, which includes calling potential clients and getting them to invest in particular stocks. Fox focuses his energy on gaining his professional hero, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), as a client. Gekko is a big deal, and when Fox’s relentlessness gains him a meeting with Mr. Gekko, what transpires can only be described as a proverbial rollercoaster ride through the stock market with lies and deception playing a considerable role in the film.

Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen are at the pinnacle of their careers in “Wall Street,” making one wish they could stay young forever. Gordon Gekko remains one of the most highlighted roles of Douglas’ career, alongside his roles in “Fatal Attraction” and later “Basic Instinct.” Charlie Sheen used “Wall Street” as a launching pad into his illustrious career and continues to prove that “Wall Street” will always be one of his crowning achievements.

Oliver Stone’s accomplishments are a long list. With the second “Wall Street” (“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”) on the horizon with Stone at the helm, he will prove that over two decades later, he has the lasting power to continue his remarkable creative streak.

“Wall Street” will forever be known as the seed that produced the genre carried by many films these days, like “21” and “Deception.” In them, the wide-eyed, nubile professional is corrupted by their “all-knowing” predecessors, finding there is a price to pay for taking shortcuts. Besides the dated computers and drab quality of the film stock, Wall Street still holds precedents in not only the cinematic but economic climate of the current generation. It is oddly prophetic in predicting the outcome of the actual Wall Street coming only a few decades after the film.