Billionaire Boys Club

This movie deserved more recognition than it actually got. One of Judd Nelson's better performances since The BreakFast Club. Nelson plays Joe Hunt, a young business man who talks his high school mates to invest in his company..the ultimate 'get rich quickly' scheme. Things go pretty well at the start, but after a while, things start falling apart. Thats when trouble sets in, and Hunt's accused of killing Ron Levin, a con-man who owed him money. Things get very interesting from here on. Pretty good performances by Nelson and Mcnamara, who plays Hunt's right hand man, Dean Carney. I'd recommend this one.

... and that is where I found this long forgotten micro mini series. Joe Hunt, a smart but poor kid who mixed with kids richer than himself but more easily influenced, grows up to be a very amoral and ambitious young man. Maybe in another time he wouldn't have gotten into the trouble he did. But it was the 80s and Wall Street was booming. And everybody wanted to get rich quick and was willing to listen to anybody who would tell them that not only they could, but that they would. Enter the young men who believed Joe Hunt could turn their small investments into mountains. They dressed, dined, and walked the walk. But unfortunately the returns Joe promised did not pan out, and that's when he crossed lines that should never be crossed.

Meanwhile the double minded and addled young men he is aligned with are in a dilemma. The luckier ones who are not involved and just know afterwards what Joe said he did have to wonder whether or not to go to the police. The unluckier ones were so mesmerized by Joe that they actually participated.

What makes this rendition of the exploits of the Billionaire Boys' Club better than later productions is that it does not have to try to capture that 80s vibe, because this was made only three years after the fact - in 1987. The mullets, the clothes, the 80s dresses and hairdos on the girls, are still in fashion. I'd highly recommend this one. It was probably Judd Nelson's finest hour. He is quite menacing as Joe Hunt without ever letting you quite know what is making him tick.

The Billionaire Boys Club is based on the true story of Joe Hunt (Nelson), a shady investor who built an empire on B.S back in the early 80s. Known as the BBC, the story involves a couple of guys recruited into Hunt's company on the promise of making millions. However, everytime Hunt's lapdogs think his boss has used his cleverness to make them filthy rich, they instead find themselves with financial losses. Trying to recoup a mounting pile of debt made from giant b.s. deals, the ruthless Hunt involves select members of the BBC to aid in the worst of crimes to get what they want. But, a few, scared of how far Hunt will go, try to stop Hunt's brutal reign of terror possibly before real damage begins.

The bulk of the story is told in flashback in accordance with testimony of various witnesses at Hunt's murder trial. Most of the testimony comes from Hunt's closet collegue and accomplice, Dean Karney(MacNamara) who was offered immunity in exchange for his testimony. As the story of fraud, greed, kidnapping, and murder unravels, it is unusual how lightly those other than Joe (who naturally behaves with such cruelty) react knowing all the crimes they've committed. A murder here and there, but they can still have such good times at a birthday party, for example. And what's even more disgusting is how the defense team for Joe Hunt tried to write off everything as immature gimmicks, simply stating that Hunt was innocent despite the large number of witnesses testifying against him and the vast paperwork trails that reinforce his guilt. If that was the actual closing arguments offered by the defense, my only guess was it was a last hope that Hunt could get off. And what is even more laughable is how brazen Hunt was about absolutely everything. He is not a sympathetic character in any light. Neither are too many others in the BBC, except for the three responsible for setting off the case that eventually brought down Joe Hunt. And what is much more sickening than that Joe Hunt wasn't the first and isn't the last in the game of greedy ambition (recall that 'Boiler Room' based on a true story that occurred many years after the case of Joe Hunt and the BBC).

I think part of the attraction, too, to this movie is the cast of young actors: Judd Nelson, Brian MacNamara (always an enjoyable actor), John Stockwell, Raphael Sbarge, and many others.

It is an insight into much of the corporate greed that went on particularly in the 1980s.

i enjoyed the original mini-series as it was televised over two nights. i bought a VHS copy a few years ago, and was distressed finding a shorter and edited version that left out essential scenes that made this thriller run. the line from Judd Nelson's electrifying role of Joe Hunt..."then I declare war on you..." and Dean Karney's somber statement, "you can't beat a good conspiracy"...were priceless. the whole spin of affluent young men as corporate raiders and investors of commodities may have been noble aspirations, but only to get caught in the web of Joe Hunt's paradox philosophy. The book, of course has more depth and detail, closer to the reality of this true crime.

Highly entertaining. Funny. Some twists. Really shows the greed of the 80s.

Great actors. I have watched this movie so many times.

This is definitely one of the top 100 cult movies to see.