Wall Street (DVD, 2006, Sensormatic)

So we pulled out our Oliver Stone collector's set that we've only watched one movie from (JFK) and decided to try our chances with Wall Street, claimed to be one of the 25 best movies ever by a book I have by Joe Garner called Now Showing. I must say, all in all, it was a good movie. I actually really liked Charlie Sheen and Martin Sheen's work in it and I believed their relationship. I finally got to see Michael Douglas just the way I like him -- being a bad guy, someone getting the best of him, and not seducing women.

Michael Douglas plays a big Wallstreet player who has money falling out of his eyeballs and is idolized by Charlie Sheen's Bud Fox. Fox is taught to bend and eventually break the rules to get ahead and get that cold hard cash. This movie is all about greed. Douglas' character likes to buy out the majority of shares in a company and then liquidate it getting away with a quick buck. Bud Fox grows a conscience when he sells out his father's company to this same fate and decides to fight against it ruining everything he's worked for. There is an appearance by Darryl Hannah as random home decorating girlfriend who is very comfortable in her way of living and leaves Fox the first time it gets tough. I thought it would be more dramatic and more of a point of her being in the movie, but there really isn't and it ended up being a waste of screen time and just one more thing for him to lose on his fall from grace. Again I really loved seeing someone get the best of Michael Douglas, even if they couldn't get away scot-free and had to face the music. Shows the value of time, hard work, and morals over getting rich quick with some family values thrown in too.

Probably an undervalued asset to this film is one of my favorites, John C. McGinley whom you'll remember as one of the Bob's from Office Space and his role of Dr. Cox on Scrubs. Always there to heckle and mock his good friend and has some of the best one-liners in the movie. I'm going to be generous and give this movie an A-.

This is a can't miss movie!!! Very Motivational and really makes you want to get out of your seat and Hustle!

Wall Street, in my opinion, is the best movie ever created that describes a stock broker's dilemma. Why? I was in the industry for a number of years and have personal experience not only as a stock broker, but also as a firm's General Principal (okay, big title for owner / manager of a firm).

Charlie Sheen perfectly depicts character Bud Fox's naive beliefs that you study stock charts and develop a understanding of a stock's fundamentals to educate and help a client. Whoops, just like in any fairy tale Bud is living a dream. In the real world he is nothing more than a salesman.

In the case of Wall Street father does know best. Bud's pop Carl, played by Martin Sheen, confronts him on the fact that Bud is in fact a salesman. Bud's denial of this fact is not only the beginning of his downfall, but it happens countless times everyday. By definition, stock brokers under the SEC and NASD are not permitted to give "advice" or "receive a fee" for selling stocks, they receive a commission. That sure sounds like a salesman!

As such, if Bud spent less time trying to "learn and analyze" the stocks and focused on increasing his skills on selling and networking, he would never have been intrigued by Gordon's offer. That is his job ... sell stocks and grow your book of business.

If bud wanted to make a living analyzing technical chart patterns, stock fundamentals or sentiment analysis then he should have become a market analyst. You have to focus on what you do and perfect that function. He sells stocks! He doesn't get paid to consult or advise on stocks.

However, Gordon Gekko, is played perfectly by Michael Douglas. Gekko's speech is classic in describing the business of Wall Street, his "greed is good speech" is worth the time and money you invest in "Wall Street." In reality, it is what makes the stock market tick. Why? Greed is an emotion. Sentiment is the true underlying mechanism that makes the market move. Remember, there are at least 2 sides to each trade -- a buyer and a seller.

Finally, I don't want to give away the details and drama that the movie itself so ingeniously unveils. Wall Street is a movie that perfectly transcends a real world element into a job description that has such a historical allure and notoriety attached to it that usually doesn't quite make good for fairy tale endings.