A sequel to the 1987 original, which earned Michael Douglas a Best Actor Oscar, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is really a commentary on the state of the financial industry.
After being in jail for eight years, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) is released and nobody remembers him, not even his own family. Several years later, in 2008, he reemerges with a new book Greed Is Good. He believes world finance is a systematic corruption and a collective moral hazard (which, as Gekko explains, means people who manage others' money without any personal responsibilities). He believes the financial bubble is doomed to burst.
Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf) is a trader on Wall Street, and he's engaged to Gekko's estranged daughter Winnie (Carey Mulligan). When his firm goes down because of a vicious rumor spread by rival Bretton James (Josh Brolin), his senior partner Louis Zabel (Fran Langella) commits suicide. Jake vows to avenge his death by infiltrating into James's firm. Meanwhile, he tries to patch things up between Gekko and Winnie.
Then the real estate bubble bursts and Wall Street is in turmoil. James and his partner Jules (Eli Wallach) manage to get a huge bailout from the US government by selling them fear. Meanwhile, Jake has his heart set on a company with a new technology for clean alternative energy. Unable to convince James to invest, Jake turns to Gekko, who says he has $100 million saved in a Swiss bank…
Despite top billing, Michael Douglas (Solitary Man) only has a secondary role. It's always good to see Douglas in a drama, and he reprises his Oscar-winning role as Gekko with relish. This Gekko seems to be softer and wiser, but we still see the ruthlessness lurking underneath. Douglas's performance is seasoned and I wish he had more screen time.
I honestly don't understand why Shia LaBeouf (Transformers) is getting all these high-profile roles. He's a decent actor, but he has a very limited range. He's somewhat unconvincing as a Wall Street wiz-kid, and he's too light for the role, especially when you compare him with Charlie Sheen (who has as cameo) in the original. Josh Brolin (Jonah Hex), on the other hand, has really matured as a dramatic actor. As James, he is aggressive, arrogant and ruthless, a stark contrast to his previous performances in W or Milk.
The women don't have much to do. Carey Mulligan (An Education) is fine as Gekko's daughter and Jake's fiance, but she mostly plays the hurt and unhappy child. There's not much character development for her. Susan Sarandon (The Lovely Bones) has a very small role as Jake's mother, who quit her job as a nurse to become a real estate agent. She does her best in the largely irrelevant role. Eli Wallach (The Ghost Writer) is solid as James's mentor and Wall Street tycoon, and Frank Langella (The Box) gives one of the most memorable performances as Jake's mentor and father figure.
Written by Allan Loeb (21) and Stephen Schiff (True Crime), the screenplay is a convoluted mess that tries too hard and does too much. It's a political drama. It's a personal story. It's a social commentary on the state of our financial world and public policies. It tries to be everything for everyone. The plot is overwrought with too many threads and characters. The points of view are unfocused: is it Jake's story, or Gekko's? The dialogue is serviceable, but probably incomprehensible for people who are not familiar with financial terms, concepts or jargons. I have a hard time following the plot.
Character development is kept to the minimum, and their motivations are not always clear. While Gekko seems to have a master plan and James does what he does, Jake is the big problem as the protagonist of the story. I don't have a clear sense of what he really wants. He seems to waver in his objectives. On one hand, he tries to bring down Bretton James, but on the other hand he's trying to make him lots of money. Also, his relationship with Gekko is built on a flimsy pretense. To complicate things, Winne's role is reduced to a victim who has no true opinion on anything. She's a weak, underdeveloped character who serves only as a pawn in this game, as Gekko explains later.Oliver Stone (W) is an excellent direction, no doubt. His cinematic skills are undeniable, and he's able to move things along despite the convoluted story and fractured points of view. It's just a shame that the story lacks focus and we don't quite know who to root for.
The problem is the writing. Gekko is such a fascinating character that the writers could have done so much by putting him front and center. Instead, we get a weak character played by a limited actor, and the story loses its focus with too many threads, trying to do too much. This isn't something that will please Wall Street.
Stars: Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Eli Wallach, Susan Sarandon, Frank Langella, Austin Pendleton
Director: Oliver Stone
Writers: Allan Loeb, Stephen Schiff,
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
MPAA Rating: PG-13 brief strong language and thematic elements
Running Time: 133 minutes
Ratings:
Script – 6
Performance – 7
Direction – 8
Cinematography – 8
Music/Sound– 7
Editing – 8
Production – 8
Total – 7.2 out of 10
Olive (Emma Stone) is a high school senior who has lived most of her life mostly as an invisible person. She's not nerdy enough to be ostracized, but not popular enough to be noticed either. To avoid spending a weekend camping with her best friend's (Alyson Michakla) wacky parents, she makes up a story of having spent the weekend with a college freshman (a one-night stand). When the school's Christian leader Marianne (Amanda Bynes) hears about it, she starts to spread rumor about Olive being a slut.
Finally, Olive gets the attention she wants. Her gay best friend Brandon (Dan Byrd) suggests they put on a show to a) convince others that Brandon is straight and b) seal Olive's reputation as the "it" girl. Soon, things get out of hands as guys start to pay Olive to be their beards. The rumors eventually get out of hand. At first, she goes with the flow and decides she doesn't care, but the truth is, she cares. And when her lies get tangled up with a teacher's marriage, she decides she needs to come clean once and for all.
Emma Stone (Zombieland) owns the film. Seldom do we get a heroine so endearing, sarcastic, and genuine. She carries the entire movie with a great personality, and we can't help but root for her, even if she's doing all the wrong thing just to get noticed. Amanda Bynes (Hairspray) is a bit typecast as the "mean girl," but she handles the caricatural role with ease.
Penn Badgley (The Stepfather) is under-used and somewhat "too good to be true" as Olive's object of affection, but he's charming. Dan Byrd (Norman) has a lot of fun playing the gay best friend. Alyson Michalka (Bandslam) plays the cliched best friend with energy, and Cam Gigandet (Twilight) goes out of his comfort zone and plays a Bible-thumping teen.
The adults are generally good, too, in their limited roles. Thomas Haden Church (All About Steve) is uncharacteristically sincere as Olive's favorite English teacher. Lisa Kudrow (Bandslam) has one of the most interesting nervous breakdown scenes as the guidance counselor. Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones) and Patricia Clarkson (Shutter Island) are fantastic as Olive's funny, warm and supportive, super liberal parents -- now we know where Olive got her sarcastic sense of humor.
Bert V. Royal's (Gigantic) first foray to the big screen is a mix bag. The screenplay has been described as a cross between Mean Girls and Saved. I can see the similarities, but I think Royal has done something a bit different. Still a coming of age story, it tackles interesting themes such as teen sexuality, social networking (how rumors spread fast and wide in the age of Twitter and texting), and honesty. That said, the situations often seem contrived -- I mean, in what decade are these teens living that losing one's virginity is such big news? Intentional or not, there's a pervasive "retro" feel to the story.
The dialogue is generally funny and the situations are chuckle-worthy, but there are not enough laugh-out-loud moments. The comedy is often subtle and amusing, but not hilariously funny. Many of the characters are just mishmash of cliches and stereotypes, and they don't have enough depth. By far the most successful element is the character of Olive, who is the most three-dimensional. It also helps that Emma Stone brings a lot to the role and practically becomes the story.
Will Gluck's (Fired Up!) direction serves the story well. The pacing is crisp and it weaves through the storyline well. I wish he hadn't used so much voice-over, however. While Olive's sarcasm and deadpan humor are endearing, and Emma Stone's delivery is marvelous, too much voice over bogs down the narrative. Show, don't tell. In general, Gluck keeps the plot clipping along, and there is seldom a dull moment.
Gianni (Gianni Di Gregorio) is a middle-aged bachelor who lives with his elderly mother. It's not entirely clear what Gianni does for work, but it's mid-August anyway, and much of Rome is shut down. Gianni adores his mother, but she can be demanding and she needs constant attention from her doting son.
Gianni also hasn't paid a lot of his bills lately. His condominium committee is very angry with him and want him to move out. He hasn't even paid the rent for a few years! His landlord Alfronso (Alfronzo Santagata) visits him and offers a deal: he's going away for a few days on vacation with his much-younger girlfriend, and he needs Gianni to take care of his elderly mother Marina (Marina Cacciotti). Gianni reluctantly agrees, despite the fact he's already taking care of his mother, because Alfronso agrees to waive the money he's owed.
Unexpectedly, Alfronso also dumps his aunt Maria (Maria Cali), who has onset Alzheimer's, onto Gianni. The small apartment becomes incredibly crowded with three elderly women who all have special needs. To complicate matters, his doctor friend Marcello (Marcello Ottolenghi) has to work the night shift and needs Gianni to take care of his mother Grazia (Grazia Cesarini Sforza) for a day. Now five really is company.
The small Italian cast has a very endearing quality about them; they seem genuine, as if they were not actors at all. In fact, some of them really aren't. Actor-writer-director Gianni Di Gregorio (Guests) is natural and genuine as the aging man who has no job, no wife and drinks a little too much. He looks and acts like someone off the street and whom you would like to know. Valeria De Franciscis (The Monster Today) is fantastic as the nagging mother. She's charming and her expressive face is a character all by itself.
Marina Cacciotti is interesting as the self-assured woman (healthy as a rock) who despises her son's pampering -- all she needs is to get out, have a drink and a smoke! She has the slight bitchy edge of Italian women that we've come to love. Maria Cali is quiet and withdrawn as Aunt Maria, and Grazia Cesarini Sforza is endearing as Marcello's mother who is tired of her doctor son's restrictions -- she wants to eat meat and drink wine and go to bed late! Considering this is their first film, these women has done a remarkable job.
Alfronso Santagata (Gomorrah) is nicely pushy as the landlord who knows how to drive a hard bargain and offer a deal Gianni can't refuse. Marcello Ottolenghi is gentle as Gianni's doctor friend. And Luigi Marchetti (Alta marea) is affectionately aimless as Viking.
Garrett (Justin Long) works at a record label in New York City. After he's been dumped by his girlfriend (and for the umpteenth time since Garrett can't seem to know how to commit to a relationship), he goes out to a neighborhood bar with his best friends Box (Jason Sudeikis) and Dan (Charlie Day). He meets Erin (Drew Barrymore), a 31-year-old intern at the New York Sentinel. They immediately hit it off despite the fact that Erin will only be in New York for another six weeks before going back to Stanford to finish her graduate school. They decide to make their new relationship light and easy.
When Erin's inevitable departure comes, they realize they've fallen in love with each other. Unfortunately, there's no job for Erin in New York. They decide to give their long-distance relationship a go and see where it takes them. Over the next year, they see each other about every three months. Despite the distance and infrequent visits (other than daily phone calls and emails), absence does make the heart grow fonder. Erin desperately tries to return to New York, but the economy does not cooperate. Meanwhile, Garrett is having doubt about the viability of such a relationship.
Drew Barrymore (Everybody's Fine) has grown as an actress in recent years. In a way, she should step away from romantic comedies and do something more dramatic, such as her fantastic turn in Grey Gardens. Here, though, she has matured and is acting her age (instead of a cutesy ingenue). The material also allow her to be more adult and raunchy -- setting her free, so to speak. Justin Long (Taking Chances) has also come to his own and grown up. Long's range is rather limited, though, and he seems to play the same earnest, sweet guy-next-door type like Garrett. Long and Barrymore, who are real-life lovers, have good on-screen chemistry together.
While the leads are cute and earnest together, the supporting cast is really where the raunchy comedy is. Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) is hilarious as Garrett's roommate Dan, a perpetual loser who lives vicariously through his roommate's love life. Jason Sudeikis (The Bounty Hunter) is equally funny and crude as Box, another loser who likes older women because they are "easy." You rather wonder why Garrett, who seems to have no problem with getting lovers, would be close friends to these two clowns -- other than the fact that they're great comic reliefs.
Christina Applegate (The Rocker) plays Erin's uptight, germophobic sister who is not quite happy to be a suburban wife. The role fits her like a T. Ron Livingston (Dinner for Schmucks) has almost nothing to do -- the role is neither relevant or funny; I wonder if his part was originally bigger but they cut him out? Jim Gaffigan (17 Again) is funny as Erin's bored brother-in-law, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Bonekickers), as Erin's charming and handsome coworker, is a dead ringer for Jake Gyllenhaal.
LaTulippe also takes the Judd Apatow road by being raunchy with the situations and dialogue. Much of the raunch comes from the sidekicks such as Garrett's friends or sexual situations that Erin and Garrett get themselves into. That frees the movie from getting dull and mundane. Still, if we focus on the lead characters, their relationship does seem rather dull and mundane, with an almost retro sweetness to it that is devoid of today's cynicism. In what year was this movie set? I mean, they play arcade games. They don't know how to do phone and Internet sex (hello, that's what a webcam is for). They laugh over a sneezing panda. There's just something unrealistic about their relationship even though their "issues" feel real.
Director Nanett Burstein (American Teen) manages to keep it real, most of the time. There's nothing fancy about her direction and she lets the actors work their magic. Still, she could tighten the pacing at various places, and the plot could pick up or trimmed. At 109 minutes, it feels long and could have been a 90-minute movie without losing anything. Burstein has a tendency to let her scenes linger and leaving nulls in the dialogue.
As is, Going the Distance is a sweet romantic comedy that tackles certain realistic issues, even though the central relationship feels a little off. As usual, the secondary characters are much more interesting than the leads. While the movie is pleasant, at times hilarious and raunchy, and the actors do their job well, it falls short of really going the distance.