Professor Elam

Sunday Oct 10, 2010

The first movie succeeded because it was about Wall Street. The plot was quite understandable and the good and bad guys were pretty clear. This time around,  the plot is near incomprehensible wandering off into Oliver Stone social causes and sentiment more appropriate for a Doris Day romantic comedy. 

Writers Schiff and Loeb tried to replicate the Lehman metldown. If anyone ought to get an Oscar mention, it's Frank Langella as the dethorned head of a fictional Lehman. I feel no such sorrow for his real world counterpart, Richard Fuld who should be in jail. 

At any rate, Gordon Gekko is out of jail and signs on with Jake to extract revenge against Bretton James who he believes has engineered tehefall of Langella's firm.  Did I mention that Jake lost his one million bonus by investing in that firm and oh yeah, he is sleeping with Gekko's daughter, I mean this is Hollywood. 

And as it looks like the plot might shape up, it falls apart. This movie is more about marketing product placement than being a movie. Ducati motorcycles offer a gorgeous ride through fall in the New York countryside, I doubt Bretton would take the day off in the midst of the crisis for that but. Expensive watches with names I cannot pronounced even figure in the credits, If it is not a Rolex or Breitling I don't know what it is. There are cameos a plenty. 

Oliver Stone casts himself as John Huston did as a financial figure. 

We are supposed to believe that Susan Sarandon playing Jake's Mom gives up a lucrative real estate sales career to become a nurse gain, ah yes the rewards of real work…

There is a lavish fund raiser which must have been the real thing featuring a bevy of Town and Country type gorgeous people, who were these folks, did they invest in the movie?  I spotted Chanos and other Wall Street types but pretty much only the liberals….

Eli Wallach might look old to younger viewers, no wonder he is 95! By the way he is a UT Austin graduate, did anyone notice that Jake's cell phone rings with the Theme from A Fistful of Dollars even though it was The Good Bad and Ugly that paired Wallach with Eastwood and then famous Lee van Cleef?

Lots and lots of footage of NYC, it should have ben listed as a Best Supporting…

And then there is the deus ex machina ending, mean ole Gordon ….well this would hardly spoil the ending which you will see coming but 

all in all a disappointment, no suggestion that the Treasury Secy was really gunning against Lehman and for perhaps his own former firm which is what actually happened, Lehman and Bear gone, Goldman still here gee how did that happen…

Oh well I will be taking a look at Waiting for Superman and some others upcoming this fall. Money may never sleep but I found myself snoozing off