Oliver Stone’s souped-up, morality melodrama hammers away with ferocity at corporate raiders, insider trading, stock manipulation and other questionable practices involving big business in the 80s “Greed is Good” decade.
Michael Douglas marshals his ultimate acting skills as the slippery, corrupt, company takeover pirate, Gordon Gekko, who manipulates a novice stockbroker, Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), also moved by greed and power.
His ethos is to break companies apart because they are “breakable”.
They’re soon both riding high on the results, with Gekko providing Bud with hookers, entry to private clubs, and even the interior decorator who becomes his girlfriend, Darien Taylor (Daryl Hannah).
There’s a precipitous fall to come, though, as Bud overreaches and Gekko’s friendship turns out to be unreliable.
What the traders in Wall Street do is illegal, immoral and unethical – but they justify their actions with platitudes such as “Nobody gets hurt”, “Everybody’s doing it”, “There’s something in this deal for everybody” and “Who knows except us?”.
Michael Douglas modelled his portrayal of Gekko partly on Donald Trump (Trump loved the comparison), and based his “Greed is good” speech on a real commencement address once delivered by the infamous corporate raider Ivan Boesky, who was eventually barred forever for insider trading.
The topical film (at the time) is often a tad overly sensational, but, nevertheless it packs a powerful bottom line with a blue chip punch. Broad morality play aside, Wall Street is scary because it’s accurate. Right, Buddy Boy?
Gordon Gekko
Michael Douglas Bud Fox
Charlie Sheen Darien Taylor
Daryl Hannah Carl Fox
Martin Sheen Sir Larry Wildman
Terence Stamp Lou Mannheim
Hal Holbrook Kate Gekko
Sean Young Roger Barnes
James Spader Sylvie Drimmer
Sylvia Miles Cromwell
Richard Dysart Harold Salt
Saul Rubinek Ollie
Josh Mostel
His ethos is to break companies apart because they are “breakable”.
Gordon Gekko
