Ri$iko - Der schnellste Weg zum Reichtum

Although Giovanni Ribisi is the main character, Seth, one of the most outstanding performances is by Vin Diesel as Chris. In Boiler Room he shows that he is more than muscle as he acts his pants off! If you like Wall Street, you will love this - there is even a tribute to it in the movie. An intelligent movie dealing with the desire to get rich quick, regardless of the consequences. A must see!

Back in the old days what Giovanni Ribisi went to work at was euphemistically termed a 'bucket shop' and the practice of holding onto profits and never really paying except in select instances was referred to as 'bucketing'. The regulations put in during the New Deal curbed them somewhat, but the deregulation that occurred during the Reagan Years put operations like these back in business. That and telemarketing did the rest.

Our protagonist in this film is Giovanni Ribisi who's a kid that I can somewhat identify with, one who can't seem to please his rather stern father, Ron Rifkin, who also happens to be a federal judge. He'd like for Ribisi to get into traditional professions like law or medicine, but Ribisi is a child of his era and is on the lookout for a quick buck. That he gets from his current endeavor which is running a small casino out of his apartment. Though illegal Ribisi runs it honestly, but that fact makes no never mind to Rifkin.

One of his steady patrons, Nicky Katt, interests him in going to work at his brokerage house which is not located in the heart of Wall Street, but out on Long Island.

Gordon Gekko would be proud of this bunch, trained by Ben Affleck who lives the Gekko creed from Wall Street of 'greed is good'. But this crowd could never get in Michael Douglas's front door, remember what a hard time Charlie Sheen had in Wall Street. You've got your list of prospects, aka suckers, and you get on the phone and sell, Sell, SELL, but only what you want sold in a given period. The activity drives up the price and then it deflates, but not before the broker gives out. On Wall Street, it's called 'kiting' a stock.

Michael Douglas's Gordon Gekko takes us to the rarefied world of big time Wall Street corruption. These guys are the minor leagues of the same sport. Ribisi as he soon finds out was living more honorably as a casino entrepreneur. But he can't get out mainly because dad seems to have somewhat changed his attitude. And Rifkin's respect is all he wants.

Boiler Room works best during the scenes with Rifkin and Ribisi, their up and down relationship is the key to the whole film. Other performances to watch out for are Nia Long as the secretary clearing $80,000.00 a year because of her insider information, Vin Diesel as a cheery hedonistic sort of bucketeer, and Nicky Katt is a more intense variety of the same breed.

The one to really watch out for is Ben Affleck. It's a small part, but Affleck does wonders with it. Now this is a man who could really have made it Gekko's world and wouldn't have had the trouble that Charlie Sheen had crashing it or the conscience pangs after he discovers what it's all about. Affleck should have gotten Oscar consideration in the Supporting Actor category.

In fact the whole film is sadly overlooked, don't miss it if it is ever broadcast.

Boiler Room is good, but not great. But most people misunderstand the plot or buy into the marketing. This is NOT ABOUT day-traders. It is about so-called Boiler Room brokerage houses ("Chop Shops").

Boiler Room has very little to do with either the GlenGary Glen Ross or Wall Street movies. Yes, it happens to quote them a few times and the "greed is good"/"ABC -- Always Be Closing" themes are part of Boiler Room, but the movie is not those movies. If you really want to know what this movie is about, read "License to Steal".

This movie is basically LtS-lite. You'll learn a lot more about how scrappy brokerages manipulate fake IPOs to make millions for their employees.

And this is not a love story and Ben Affleck is mediocre at best. You might say it is a story about the relationship between a son and father.

To sum up: If you want to learn about day trading, see Wall Street.

If you want to learn about stock chop shops, read License to Steal.

If you want a decent movie with alot of hip hop but basically an unlikable protagonist, see Boiler Room.

This film owes a credit to Glengarry Glenn Ross and Wall Street, but I actually liked this better. Why? Because it seemed more real to me (the script and acting probably did it) than the other films. I liked the Giovanni Ribisi character, who changes slightly through the film, but eventually we see the real side of him, which is great. Funny, thrilling and cool, this film may not be for the weak at heart, but it is for anyone who can afford the tickets. Ben Affleck appears (in one of his better performances) as Ribisi's showy and pushy boss at the stock place. One of the better films (top 20) of the new year. A+

Great movie, I really enjoyed the most of it except the ending. The producer got it right until that last 30 minutes or so. It lost pace and drama, and I was definitely not expecting the movie to end like that.I would have liked to see the policeman coming and rocking the boiler room. I would have also liked to see just how far Nia Long would have gone with her complicated love life. Great movie but pathetic ending !!!!