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"WALL STREET" (1987) (Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen) (R) QUICK TAKE: Drama: A young and ambitious stock broker becomes corrupted by an unscrupulous corporate raider in the mid-1980s. PLOT: In 1985, Bud Fox (CHARLIE SHEEN) is a low-level stockbroker in Manhattan whose day consists of cold-calling potential investors for his boss, Lou (HAL HOLBROOK), and jockeying with fellow brokers Marvin (JOHN C. McGINLEY) and Dan (FRANKLIN COVER). He dreams of being on the other end of that phone and being one of the major money men, like his idol, the ruthless broker and corporate pirate Gordon Gekko (MICHAEL DOUGLAS). He manages to get five minutes with the man on his birthday and uses some insider knowledge of the small airline company his mechanic father, Carl (MARTIN SHEEN), works at to impress him. Soon, Gekko has taken Bud under his wing and is seducing him with money, limousines, private jets, and beautiful women. Among the most beautiful is interior designer and art broker, Darien (DARYL HANNAH), who he strikes up a relationship with. When he learns that Gekko has just been using him to gain a foothold into his father's company and reap millions at the expense of the airline's employees, Bud sets an elaborate trap for the corporate raider using his arch rival Larry Wildman (TERENCE STAMP). To do so, though, Bud has to fight just as dirty as Gekko ever has and the price may be his soul. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Older teens on their way to college and with an interest in business and finance may be enticed to rent it. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R No official reason is available from the MPAA, but we'd guess it's for profanity and sexually related material. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: CHARLIE SHEEN plays a young stockbroker who becomes blinded by his own greed and quest for wealth and success to the point where he puts his father's company in jeopardy at the hands of a corporate pirate. He is not above breaking the law to get what he wants, even though he clearly knows right from wrong. He is a casual drinker and smoker, dabbles briefly in cocaine with a prostitute, and uses profanity. MICHAEL DOUGLAS plays the corporate raider who uses Bud to advance his own schemes. He is a ruthless businessman who only deals in transactions in the millions. He is a hard drinker, a chain smoker, and exudes wealth and power. He is a husband and father, but clearly enjoys affairs on the side. MARTIN SHEEN plays Bud's blue-collar father and de facto conscience in the movie. He sees through Gordon Gekko's schemes and tries to warn Bud that he is being led astray, but his son ignores him. He is a heavy smoker who has health problems as a result and eventually has a second heart attack. DARYL HANNAH plays an interior decorator and art broker who previously had a sexual relationship with Gordon Gekko and is now romantically involved with Bud. She is very materialistic, wearing the trendiest fashions of the 1980s and states unequivocally that she will not settle for "just getting by." HAL HOLBROOK plays Bud's kindly boss at the investment firm where he toils daily, cold-calling potential investors. He conducts business in a honest manner and is held up as a direct contrast to Gekko. JOHN C. McGINLEY plays a fellow broker at Bud's firm who becomes envious of his friend's success. He is not as driven or as intelligent as Bud, which ultimately brings the two into conflict when he is unable to keep up with Bud's wheeling and dealing. FRANKLIN COVER plays a tragic veteran broker who is no longer able to keep up with the fast pace of day-in, day-out stock trading and is fired as a result. He is a smoker. TERENCE STAMP plays Gekko's ruthless arch nemesis, a Brit who torpedoed one of Gekko's most promising deals years earlier and Gekko has tried to get him back ever since. He becomes instrumental in Bud's plot to exact revenge against Gekko for using him to dismantle his father's company. SEAN YOUNG plays the bubbly wife of Gekko who appears either accepting or unknowing of her husband's flashy, ruthless ways. JAMES SPADER plays a Wall Street lawyer and former classmate of Bud's, who isn't above using insider information to make a quick buck in the stock market. But he stops short of giving Bud direct information in return on the clients his firm represents. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this drama that has been rated R. Profanity consists of at least 17 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some sexually related dialogue is present along with one scene of a couple having sex in silhouette, at least three other scenes of implied sex, and a scene in the back of the limo in which a prostitute begins to perform an oral sex act on the main character. Violence consists of a man being punched hard in the face four times and manhandled, which has a fairly bloody result. Bad attitudes are present throughout, as is much potentially imitative behavior and various thematic elements. White-collar crime factors heavily into the plot. And there is an extreme amount of drinking and smoking present throughout the entire film. Those with September 11 sensitivities should know that there are multiple shots of the since-destroyed World Trade Center in the film. Tense family material is also present. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Bud has beers with his father and co-workers at a blue-collar tavern. Carl makes reference to being on prescription blood-pressure medication. Bud and Gekko have drinks at a restaurant. Bud snorts cocaine and drinks wine with a hooker in the back of a limo. At a cocktail party at the home of Gordon Gekko and his wife, multiple guests are shown drinking martinis and other alcoholic beverages. Bud jokes that one needs to consume mushrooms to appreciate Gekko's choices of art. Bud offers to take Roger out for a beer. Bud and Darien both drink wine while on a date. Gekko sips wine poolside while going over offshore investment accounts with Bud and his lawyer. Others drink in the scene, too. Bud mixes some alcoholic drink in a blender while talking on the phone. Bud and Darien have wine while preparing and then eating dinner at Bud's new apartment. Gekko offers Darien champagne in celebration of a successful art purchase. Bud drinks what appears to be a glass of wine on Gekko's private jet. Gekko drinks wine while meeting with Bud, Carl, and two other union representatives. Gekko has a bar in his office that is fully stocked with liquor and other spirits. He pours himself a glass of whiskey soon after Bud barges in and disrupts a meeting. Bud drunkenly swigs from a whiskey bottle after learning Gordon used him. Bud drinks a beer while meeting with airline union reps to plot Gekko's downfall. Gekko is drinking whiskey or some spirit while watching the news in his home office while his young son plays nearby. BLOOD/GROSS STUFF Bud asks his father, "Who peed in your Cheerios?" Gekko's son is shown picking his nose. Of his business rival, Larry Wildman of England, Gekko says: "Like all Brits, he thinks he was born with a better pot to piss in." Bud bleeds from the mouth after being punched by Gekko. He wipes his lips and blood is then visible on his hand. At Tavern on the Green, Bud turns over a tape recorder to the authorities while sporting a facial wound where Gekko punched him. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Too many people crowd into a building's elevator. Dan laments about being stuck in his job. Carl continues to smoke even though his health is not good and his doctor and family have urged him to quit. Gekko threatens a man over the phone, stating, "I'm gonna come down and eat your lunch for you." Bud leaks insider information on the airline that his father works for to get in good with Gekko. To take his meeting with Gekko, Bud goes missing from his office for three hours without informing his boss. Bud refers to using an airport contact to secretly obtain Cuban cigars, which were considered contraband at the time. Of his business rival, Larry Wildman of England, Gekko says: "Like all Brits, he thinks he was born with a better pot to piss in." We learn that Wildman had bribed Gekko's secretary in order to gain a competitive advantage while jockeying for a deal. Gekko orders Bud to follow Wildman around for a day to see what he is up to. Two females at Gekko's house party refer to a "Ukrainian bitch" as having botched one of their bikini waxes and discuss whether she should be sued. Wildman becomes enraged with Gekko's torpedoing his latest business venture and says he could break him over his knee and buy him "six times over." He subsequently calls him a "two-bit pirate." When a colleague asks Bud if he is still seeing a sexy French woman he once dated, Bud replies that they broke up because she asked the wrong question: "What are you thinking?" Bud hits up Roger, an attorney he attended college with, for some insider information on a company his firm is representing. Bud masquerades as a building maintenance worker, complete with uniform, to gain access to his friend Roger's law office after hours. He pulls the same scam at another company's office, but runs into an employee working late. Gekko's young son throws food at Gordon's attorney, hitting him in the face. Dan is fired for not pulling his quota for the month, even though he has put in many years of service at the investment firm and pleads with his boss that he has two kids to support. Bud is given his own office and is introduced to his new female assistant, who his male boss refers to as his "significantly more attractive private secretary." Marvin is openly jealous of Bud's success. Moments after Bud is given his own office at the firm and moved out of his cubicle, Marvin appears in the doorway and asks, "So, what is it? Mr. C*cks*cker now?" Gekko asks Darien if she would like to celebrate their latest art acquisition by getting a room at the Carlyle Hotel, even though he knows she and Bud are dating. She declines and the two agree not to tell Bud that they had previously been romantically involved. Gekko admires Darien for being like him and not believing in love, even though he is married. Bud screams at Marvin in front of other employees, accusing him of basically riding on his coattails. When Bud introduces Carl to Darien and Gekko, Carl jokes that he never beat Bud as a child or locked him in a closet. Gekko lies to Bud and uses his insider ties and knowledge of the airline that employs his father to gain the employees' trust. His real motive is to liquidate the firm, sell off its assets, and reap millions in profit. Despite a secretary's protests, Bud barges into Gekko's office while he is in a meeting. Darien tells Bud she will not stand by him if he decides to go up against Gekko. Bud, in turn, tells her that he'll change the locks if she walks out the door on him. When the airline deal goes south at the climax, Gekko threatens to tear the eyeballs out of the person responsible and suck his skull. Bud is arrested for conspiracy to commit securities fraud and violating the Insider Trading Sanctions Act. FRIGHTENING SCENES This is not so much scary as unsettling. There are multiple shots of the World Trade Center spread throughout the film, especially during the opening credits (including a close-up fly around with the Twin Towers in virtual silhouette). Those who have personal ties to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, or who still feel great sadness as a result of that day may find the destroyed buildings' prominence in this film to be disturbing. GUNS/WEAPONS Gekko shows Wildman and other party guests his rare gun collection. Multiple firearms, mostly handguns and pistols are shown, and Gordon takes out an extremely rare German Luger. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Rip their f*cking throats out," "F*ck! I just bagged the elephant!" "F*ckin' ay!" "What the f*ck is wrong with you?" "Don't f*ck it up," "Your f*cking men," "You f*cking used me!" "I'll personally come down there and rip out their f*cking throats!" "You and the whole sh*tty airline are going f*cking right down the tubes." "Get the f*ck out of here!" "Just sell the f*cker fast," "Well, you take it in the ass, you f*cking scumbag c*cks*cker!" "When I get a hold of the son of a bitch who leaked, I'm gonna tear his eyeballs out and I'm gonna suck his f*cking skull!" "You f*cking cockroach!" "That f*cking dogsh*t stock," "Bullsh*t!" "It's bullsh*t," "Dogsh*t," "Well, sh*t," "Their quarterlies are for sh*t," "Your computer software is dogsh*t," "So, what is it? Mr. C*cks*cker now?" "He's got your pr*ck in his back pocket," "Cut the self-pity crap," "Damn it," "G-damn!" "You sure went down the toilet on that ugly bitch," "Son of a bitch!" "That Ukrainian bitch," "I could dump the stock just to burn your ass!" "Just kicking ass and taking names," "The guy is an a-hole," "What an a-hole, man!" "Those spineless a-holes," "Bastard," "Jerk," "Ivy League schmucks," "You've been a real schmuck lately," "You're a two-bit pirate," "Scum," "What the hell is going on?" "What the hell do you want?" "You can go straight to hell, Gekko!" "How's the woman slayer?" "Dump 'em for Christ's sake!" "Gimme a break, for Christ's sakes!" "Get some exercise, for Christ's sake," "Jesus, having sex with her was like reading the Wall Street Journal," "I don't go to sleep with no whore, and I don't wake up with no whore." "Like some piss-poor South American company," "I'm gonna come down and eat your lunch for you," "This turkey is totally brain dead," "Like all Brits, he thinks he was born with a better pot to piss in," "Some dope might use it as an ashtray" and "Why are we roasting this man? Did we run out of human beings?" Bud reads his newspaper and carelessly walks out into Downtown Manhattan traffic, almost getting hit by a vehicle. Too many people crowd into a building's elevator. Bud idolizes Gordon Gekko, a known corporate shark who acquires companies and dismantles them for profit. Carl continues to smoke even though his health is not good and his doctor and family have urged him to quit. Bud is said to have called Gekko's office 59 days in a row before getting a five-minute meeting with him. Bud refers to using an airport contact to secretly obtain Cuban cigars, which were considered contraband at the time. Gekko threatens a man over the phone, stating, "I'm gonna come down and eat your lunch for you." Bud leaks insider information on the airline that his father works for to get in good with Gekko. To take his meeting with Gekko, Bud goes missing from his office for three hours without informing his boss. Ollie makes a sexual thrust move to celebrate the closing of a deal. Bud anonymously calls a major business publication and leaks sensitive investment information twice in the film. Gekko has a deep disdain for Larry Wildman due to a past business deal he trumped him on. Describing him to Bud, Gordon says, "Like all Brits, he thinks he was born with a better pot to piss in." Wildman previously bribed Gekko's secretary to get insider information. Bud hits up Roger, an attorney he attended college with, for some insider information on a company his firm is representing. Bud masquerades as a building maintenance worker, complete with uniform, to gain access to his friend Roger's law office after hours. He pulls the same scam at another company's office, but runs into an employee working late. Gekko, Bud, and Darien race dune buggies on a beach. Gekko's young son throws food at Gordon's attorney, hitting him in the face. Bud screams at Marvin in front of other employees, accusing him of basically riding on his coattails. Gekko delivers his classic "Greed is good" speech, which so many have come to emulate in the years since. Gekko lies to Bud and uses his insider ties and knowledge of the airline that employs his father to gain the employees' trust. His real motive is to liquidate the firm, sell off its assets, and reap millions in profit. Despite a secretary's protests, Bud barges into Gekko's office while he is in a meeting. Bud gets drunk after learning Gekko used him. Bud drives at high speed to a hospital where his ailing father is. JUMP SCENES As Bud and Gekko play racquetball, the ball they are swatting seems to come right at the camera. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A moderate amount of tense music occurs in the film, especially in the second half when Bud butts heads with Gekko and both their worlds start to crumble. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 17 "f" words, 10 "s" words, 3 slang terms using male genitals ("pr*ck," "c*cks*cker"), 9 asses (4 used with "hole"), 9 hells, 4 S.O.B.s, 2 damns, 1 crap, 4 uses each of "G-damn" and "Jesus Christ," 3 uses each of "For Christ sakes" and "Jesus" and 1 use each of "Ah, Christ" and "Ah Jesus." SEX/NUDITY Bud refers to a co-worker as "the woman slayer," and that man responds by telling him he is still on the lookout for an 18-year-old wife. Bud gets up from a bed wearing only underpants. A naked woman with her bare backside to the camera is lying on the bed. After watching him get up, she turns towards the camera and rises from the bed and we see her completely naked from the front. It is implied that the two have just had sexual intercourse. One character refers to a stock price going up to a rising sperm count. Ollie makes a sexual thrust move to celebrate the closing of a deal. Bud is asked about an analyst he was once intimate with, and he replies that having sex with her "was like reading the Wall Street Journal." Gekko sends a prostitute to Bud's apartment, who then takes him in a limo around New York City. She lifts up her skirt to show him her legs and does a lot of undulating while he talks stocks, pretending that it is getting her hot. After snorting some cocaine, she unzips Bud's pants in the back of the car and proceeds to perform oral sex on him. At one point, Gekko describes a business deal as better than sex. Two females at Gekko's house party refer to a "Ukrainian bitch" as having botched one of their bikini waxes and discuss whether she should be sued. Darien wears a party dress with cleavage. Bud's bare chest and stomach are exposed as he talks with Gekko over the phone. A colleague asks Bud if he is still dating "that sexy French chick." At least three women are shown in sexy bathing suits in the background of a pool scene in which Gekko goes over offshore investment accounts with Bud and his lawyer. After Bud is promoted, an envious Marvin asks if he should call him "Mr. C*cks*cker" now. A Realtor asks Bud if he is thinking of getting married soon or is he still "wolfing around." A silhouetted Bud and Darien are shown having sex on a bed. He is on top of her and we see him thrusting slowly. The two then rise up and continue to have slow sex while in a sitting position. Afterwards, we see Darien in bed. She is clearly naked, but a bedsheet obscures her private parts. Gekko asks Darien if she would like to celebrate their latest art acquisition by getting a room at the Carlyle Hotel complete with champagne. She declines. Bud and Darien talk in Bud's bedroom. Bud wears only underpants and an unbuttoned dress shirt that reveals his chest and stomach. Darien wears an alluring nightie. The two kiss, with Darien pulling Bud down on top of her and off-screen sex is then implied. Gekko follows an attractive woman into a private cabin aboard his jet and closes the door, implying that they are about to have sex. Carl tells Bud that Gekko "has your pr*ck in his back pocket." He later adds, "I don't go to sleep with no whore, and I don't wake up with no whore." SMOKING Carl smokes while talking to Bud at a blue-collar tavern early in the film. Bud gives Gordon a box of Cuban cigars as a birthday gift. Gordon smokes during his first face-to-face meeting with Bud. Lou smokes in his office. Gekko enjoys a long cigar while talking with Bud on the phone. Dan smokes a cigar at his desk at work. Gekko smokes in the back of his limo while telling Bud about Larry Wildman. A pack of cigarettes is clearly visible on a table at Gekko's cocktail party. Carl smokes while chatting with Bud in one of his company's hangars. Gekko smokes poolside while going over offshore investment accounts with Bud and his lawyer. Random people are shown smoking at a large shareholders meeting. Gekko smokes while meeting with Bud, Carl, and two other union representatives. An SEC official is shown with a large cigar in his mouth while at his desk. Multiple executives smoke cigars and cigarettes around a boardroom table while discussing an airline's liquidation. Bud smokes a cigarette and drinks from a whiskey bottle after learning Gekko used him. Bud goes to light a cigarette in Carl's hospital room, and his father snatches the cigarette away. Bud smokes a cigarette while meeting with airline union reps to plot Gekko's downfall. As Gekko and his staff learn that their airline deal is going south, Gekko's lawyer is shown puffing heavily on a cigarette. Gekko also lights up, too. Gekko smokes in his home office while watching TV and hearing a news report that Wildman is the moneyman behind him losing his airline deal. Gekko smokes while having his climactic confrontation with Bud in Central Park. Bud smokes at Manhattan's since-closed Tavern on the Green while unhooking the wire the authorities had him wear. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Carl bristles when Bud reminds him that both his doctor and family have urged him to give up cigarettes, especially since having a heart attack. Carl embarrasses Bud in front of Gekko by refusing to give into the man's charm and charisma. Bud follows Carl out of the meeting and yells at his father for being jealous of his success and never going out into the world and staking his own claim. Carl sadly replies that he must think of him as a bad father, then accuses Bud of allowing Gekko to lead him around by his genitals. Further challenging him on his relationship with Gekko, Carl tells his son, "I don't go to sleep with no whore, and I don't wake up with no whore." Bud visits his father in the hospital after he has had a second heart attack and breaks down crying in shame at the wrongs he has done. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The decade of the 1980s and all of its excess and flashy ways. The buying and selling of stocks and commodities. White collar crime. Insider trading. The stock market and how the SEC tries its best to regulate it. Cocaine as a recreational drug. VIOLENCE Throughout the film, Gekko refers to deal making in violent terms such as "the kill" and "ripping throats out" and so forth. Wildman threatens to break Gekko over his knee. When the airline deal goes south, Gekko threatens to tear the eyeballs out of the person responsible and suck his skull. Gekko destroys a vase when he hears a TV news report that Wildman bested him on the airline deal. In Central Park, Gekko punches Bud hard and draws blood. He then grabs him by the collar and manhandles him for a few seconds before punching him three more times in the face. Reviewed off DVD / Posted September 24, 2010