"Greed is good." Gordon Gecko proudly offers that idea or perhaps way of life lived by the elite of the stock market. Gecko explains it best when he talks about making nothing except wealth. Gecko signifies for many what they believe New York and the financial markets to be which is one big sham. The movie is not a burning question or even a quest for the truth as much as a hypothesis and then argument for the truth of excess. Right from the beginning of the movie Oliver Stone shows what he thinks of the tainted system and the superficial people in it.
The story follows Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), a young, struggling stock trader, looking for shortcuts in the market and ways to get rich quick. He works the phones, trying to find new clients who have the money and the where with all to make him wealthy without getting old in the process. Gordon Gecko is the man in this world of make believe and money. Gecko has it all and more importantly has it all to offer. Gecko teaches Bud Fox just how the world works, how people like him gobble up entire companies. He provides Fox with a tall, blonde girlfriend by way of Daryl Hannah and even manages to make him balance his best friend (James Spader) by way of his slight of hand business dealings. The most prominent theme throughout Oliver Stone's film is greed and it is what binds everyone in the film.
Charlie Sheen carries the movie along with veteran Michael Douglas. Douglas won Best Actor for his portrayal. There are some very corny scenes that involve Martin Sheen but thankfully they are lost in the body of the film. Generally the film holds up under scrutiny and is very easy to understand which is something that can't always be said of stock market pictures and stories. The world of high finance is always easy to follow since everyone knows what greed is and that is always the way the film is framed.
I confess it took a couple of viewings of the film to come around to my good side. Stone manages to put the entire financial system on trial rather than just those manipulating the system. He shows the system for what it is and how the corrupt few at the top keep getting richer on the backs of those at the bottom.
The story follows Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), a young, struggling stock trader, looking for shortcuts in the market and ways to get rich quick. He works the phones, trying to find new clients who have the money and the where with all to make him wealthy without getting old in the process. Gordon Gecko is the man in this world of make believe and money. Gecko has it all and more importantly has it all to offer. Gecko teaches Bud Fox just how the world works, how people like him gobble up entire companies. He provides Fox with a tall, blonde girlfriend by way of Daryl Hannah and even manages to make him balance his best friend (James Spader) by way of his slight of hand business dealings. The most prominent theme throughout Oliver Stone's film is greed and it is what binds everyone in the film.
Charlie Sheen carries the movie along with veteran Michael Douglas. Douglas won Best Actor for his portrayal. There are some very corny scenes that involve Martin Sheen but thankfully they are lost in the body of the film. Generally the film holds up under scrutiny and is very easy to understand which is something that can't always be said of stock market pictures and stories. The world of high finance is always easy to follow since everyone knows what greed is and that is always the way the film is framed.
I confess it took a couple of viewings of the film to come around to my good side. Stone manages to put the entire financial system on trial rather than just those manipulating the system. He shows the system for what it is and how the corrupt few at the top keep getting richer on the backs of those at the bottom.