उपयोगकर्ता समीक्षाएं

I had never heard of this movie until it happened to show up one night on cable. I have always been a fan of James Woods, but never have I seen him in a more convincing role. This is the best rags to riches, then riches to rags flick I have ever seen. Anyone whom has ever been involved in drugs, or has even thought about experimenting with them should watch this film.

One of the Finest Actors of Cinema History, James Woods delivers A Yet Another Fabulous Performance in 'The Boost'. A dark & depressing flick, that works mostly because of Woods.

'The Boost' Synopsis: A real-estate hustler & his wife see success, only to fall deep later-on.

'The Boost' is more about the side-effects of failure, rather than a story of drug-addicts. The struggle & the depression its pivotal characters go through, are very off-putting, as they depict reality.

Ben Stein & Darryl Ponicsan's Screenplay, though fairly engaging, gets a bit too serious & disturbing towards the second-hour. Harold Becker's Direction is proficient.

Woods is the biggest merit of 'The Boost'. He's so good as a suffering man, that my heart literally went out for him, even after he gives in to drug-addiction. Woods tops himself in here!

On the whole, 'The Boost' caters to a niche audience, but if Fine Acting is what you're looking for, then watching Woods's Masterful Performance in here, should top your list.

This movie The Boost is a cautionary tale for not just about drug addiction, but also for everybody who is new in this town called Los Angeles by following 4 simple rules. First when somebody offers you an opportunity, don't blow it , Second is manage your money wisely and not spend it on things and are not worth spending, Third hang around with people who are trustworthy and want to support you on succeeding, and not of people who you think you trust is going to suck you dry and giving you something you should not take. and lastly don't do drugs. 4 simple rules that everybody must follow when you're new to this city. It has nothing to do whether you're rich or poor, it's about staying alive and following the right path.

Another great performance by Woods, first playing his typical schemer who this time gets a lucky break to go to LA and be respectable and even rich. He's now a fast-talking real estate salesman who still has no self esteem, but for the first time has the money to buy the look that can kind of hide it. Unfortunately, the paper reports the tax laws might be changed, so the incredibly profitable business of selling real estate so people can get a tax exemption dries up overnight. Woods is left with no money because he's p****d it away on planes and other luxuries. Woods and then his wife Sean Young become druggies and their life continually spirals down until it reaches rock bottom with disillusion, no future, and no life beyond the drugs. They are left with nothing, but each other, except Woods always knew she was too good for him, so she is the final domino in his now sad life that's left to fall. Woods is the best at making you think he could crack at any moment. He's always trying to get ahead, but at the same time you know he's always on the verge of snapping and totally screwing his life up. The portrayal of Woods & Young's drug addiction is dark and unsettling, but that makes it so much more convincing.

I appreciated this movie more after the second viewing. Although dark, it leaves a powerful statement. James Woods is a silver-tongued real estate salesman that for the first time in his life he is successful and rolling in money. So much money and so quick, he turns to cocaine to stay in high gear. His wife (Sean Young)wishes things could stay plain and simple; but after slipping into the high life, she too needs drugs to remain functional. Steven Hill is the mentor that suddenly is disgusted with Woods character. The profitable real estate business dries up leaving Woods ass deep in debt and no way to support his drug habit. Woods finally clean and sober still can't repair the damage done to his life and marriage.

John Kapelos and Kelle Kerr are noteworthy in support. Woods is dynamic and very convincing. Young on the other hand seems quite bland and exhibits little acting skills. Young however is not afraid to get naked! THE BOOST is dark, moody and all too realistic.

This B grader, I wouldn't be so good to put down. As an anti drug movie, The Boost is very good. So is Woods again in his role as Lenny Brown, involved in tax sheltering, whatever, when there's a big fall and Lenny's out of pocket, his escape from his pressures and woes, his boost is through drugs, encouraged by a friend, where we quickly see Lenny, sink into a solace and bigger dependency of drugs, becoming moody, aggressive, very much the way Jim Carroll went, in The Basketball Diaries, where here, there may be no turning back, after becoming abusive to his girlfriend, Sean Young, who turns in a good performance. The disheartening monologue that Woods delivers at the end is the strongest moment of the movie, although I liked it when his decked his friend, on the account of girlfriend Young, ending up in hospital, with drug related injuries. Woods's anger was frightening, he's such a powerfully convincing actor, he has the ambiguous intensity. I wouldn't say The Boost is anything special, but to kill 90 minutes, this flick is a pretty good one to watch in that time frame.

While today this movie may seem a bit dated, and yes, it is a little over the top, with a thin story line, the message is important.

James Woods is excellent, always assimilates the character he is portraying (I was reminded of his film "The Story of Bill W.", about the origins of Alcoholics Anonymous). Sean Young is also good, looks lovely, and portrays the put upon wife who ends up saving herself.

The business deals, and his rapid rise and fall are probably exaggerated, but the audience sees a former success "hitting bottom", which for some substance abusers, can take either a year, or a decade. The fact that Woods portrays an "äverage guy" who is just trying to get ahead, is realistic; he doesn't plan to live in a seedy apartment near Hollywood Boulevard; it is a long way from NY , or Wilshire Boulevard.

Some cameos are also excellent; Steven Hill is Woods' mentor, starting him on the fast track, Grace Zabriskie portrays an eccentric neighbor; John Kapelos plays the former "friend" from Woods' halcyon days.

Initially this movie was panned mercilessly; I find that over the years certain movies resonate the time period they depict, and while this was not a blockbuster film, like Oliver Stone's "Wall Street", (which was released the year before) it at least has a message, and several decent performances which deserve credit.

James Woods plays a high-strung (what else?) corporate real estate nerd who bends to pressure and develops a nasty cocaine habit, with predictably tragic consequences. The character is essentially a small time twerp with major league ambitions, and before you can say "just say no" he loses his job, his house, his life savings, and his pet dog, but not before engaging in some of the most embarrassing melodrama ever written. Sample dialogue, taken verbatim from a tender moment between a repentant Woods and his forgiving wife (and fellow addict) Sean Young:

Woods, "Don't ever leave me."

Young, "I'll never leave you"

Woods, "Stick with me."

Young, "Till I fall off the Earth...make love to me!" Cue the violins.

Even worse, the anti-drug message is made irrelevant to the people who need to hear it most; once again the peril is associated strictly with a high-income bracket, with shots of the unfortunate couple stung out in their Jacuzzi, and so forth. Woods is too good an actor for such nonsense, and besides, in his usual intense style he behaves like a coke fiend even before taking his first snort.

The 80s was the war on drugs. That war was surrendered a little over 30 years ago now. We now see the results of that surrender. Go through any city and there's Lenny Brown's all over the place. Only thing that changes is how they get there. The war was as much about messaging and discouraging the use of drugs as much as anything else. This movie to me is a product of that. People have mocked that over the years but I can say it worked on me and I've avoid drugs and alcohol my entire life. I value seeing things as they are without something fogging my mind. The other reasons why are well explored in this film and I suppose the book it is based on as well by Ben Stein which was published before the war was waged and hard drugs were considered as recreational as alcohol. A carry over mentally from the 60s that robbed us of so many talented people that it is still a heartbreaking tragedy.

The reason I detest drugs and alcohol is when you try talking to people on either or both, you clearly can see in their eyes that you are talking to what's impairing them. You certainly are not getting through in anyway whatsoever. Also users are incredibly narcissistic and selfish. Two horrible human characteristics to avoid having or avoid people displaying them. The Boost does a deep dive into all of this and unlike other movies from this era (like Clean and Sober, featuring great performances by Michael Keaton and Morgan Freeman), you see how far down people can go with no hope at all when it's over.

The Boost is a pretty straight forward drama. Darkly themed. Some aspects do seem a little unbelievable like Sean Young's character being that open and supportive and her husband being so unaware of it that he neither accepts that at face value or takes advantage of it far earlier than he does. She's almost like a Donna Reed character living in the fast lane. Well acted. Sean Young is incredibly talented and courageous in her own right given the struggles she's handled in her personal life but this character to me is a little far fetched probably because I'll never encounter anyone like that. Purely subjective.

Another thing unbelievable to me initially as a plot device is their old friends are kept in touch with despite the damage they caused in the past. Why stay in touch after leaving the city? It makes better sense in terms of networking and waiting for erronous investments they shared to pay off.

Woods' performance is memorable and excellent. It's hard to find a bad performance he gives. He made some lousy movies but was strong in all of them. The character he plays here is very different from the others he is known for. Usually outspoken and brash, Lenny is insecure and tries to make up for it with a facade of being outspoken and brash. It's clearly fake to the audience because we see his vulnerabilities in private.

His descent is sudden, maybe too sudden. Not sure why anyone who is nervous about losing everything abuses a stimulant like that. You'd expect him to be too paralyzed with anxiety to function at his job and be more alarmed by that effect than anything else. I don't understand that aspect of the script. Maybe if we see Lenny enjoy some business successes after being a user that he mistakenly attributes to the drugs he's abusing than his own talent as a salesman. That would've made that make sense to me. They did have to change things from the original novel from the type of drug he uses (I think to be more in keeping with the later 80s? Not sure) so they could've done that better.

It's a dark tale that leads to a dark conclusion so don't plan on smiling much when it's over. Several movies back then explored substance abuse. All good in their own right (Richard Lewis in Drunks is memorable) Just enjoy the strong performances.

Muddled, episodic rendering of Benjamin Stein's book "Ludes" stars James Woods as a tax shelters salesman from New York City who is brought to Hollywood along with wife Sean Young by a wealthy business contact; soon, the couple are spending lavishly and doing coke-lines on the coffee table. Cheap-looking, poorly-edited film rests almost entirely on Woods' performance to carry it...but he fails to give his hyperactive nebbish-turned-jet-setter the proper nuances (to say the least). Supporting cast (including Amanda Blake, Grace Zabriskie, and Steven Hill in a lovely turn as James' sympathetic boss and benefactor) easily out-acts the mannered leads. *1/2 from ****

First you get James Woods so sit back and relax and enjoy as he does his job of entertaining you. Before I go on, read the book which is highly entertaining and so real and down to earth and you will be thoroughly entertained through and through with the combo. What we have here is stark reality of how drugs do what they do and what happens to humans while the drug does its thing. Anyone who has taken drugs or consumed too much food or alcohol can easily see the abuse of what they are doing take hold and redirect their true life as they do it. You see there is a Universal Law (rule) that states: Whatever you get into gets into you. This rule is non-negotiable. Here in this movie you see it up close and it has no mercy on whom it grabs on to. Mind you, everyone first believes the "lie" of this won't hurt, I won't get into it, I can get out of it, it is only temporary and many other variations. Then, at some point, the demon hook is set! Vividly constructed and acted out in both the book and the movie. Drugs and any excess are like lying, cheating and stealing. It works! It is getting caught or paying the price that no one likes. We are also introduced into another Universal Law: Every new high leads to a new low. Thus the low compels one to seek the high and a cycle of hell is born. Rational thought, reason and patience are the first to go followed by the darkness getting its turn and submitting its own dynamics some counterfeit, imitative and of course all substitute for the real life. Remember the famous: You can check in but you cannot check out statement? That's here too. Drugs? Addictions? Lies? Pray GOD it doesn't befall you and if it does, pray GOD to deliver you.

Most people say James Woods best might be "The Onion Field," or maybe "Once Upon a Time in America," or possibly "Salvador." But this gets my vote for the best work in his career, as he's an absolute powerhouse. He plays Lenny, an ambitious businessman who gets his chance to move to L.A., live in a kick ass house, own great cars, and obviously make amazing money. But then the hole falls through his tax shelter venture and he's left with nothing. But he finds new life with cocaine, the thing he thinks makes him more aggressive and will get him back on top. Instead he and his wife keep heading down, unbelievably down in utterly convincing, strongly developed scenes. The houses get smaller, the money gets scarcer, and Lenny gets more near death. Woods' best scene ever, in my opinion, occurs in this movie, when he violently explodes during a business dinner, totally ruining any chances he had. The way he so quickly says his lines, is amazing. He's incredibly wired throughout the moment and its awesome to watch. The only downside for me is the end of the film, which doesn't lead to a redemption for Lenny. Woods is still as strung out as ever, and has a terrific final moment as he reads directly into the camera the pain his character is still feeling. So despite a downer (no pun) of a finish, this is still great storytelling, with James Woods at his strongest.

This film is right up there with The Oscar and Moment by Moment as one of unintentionally funny films of all time.

It is worth the rental for a some wildly great laugh's.

The story is absolutely ludicrous.nothing in life would happen like this.it's so completely unbelievable. the way James Woods tries and hustle heavy hitters, than they give this supposed two-bit hustler a job 3000 miles away in LA what a joke

I love the old beat VW bug to signify how low they've gotten in life because of all the `tootski's'.

Sean Young is as unbelievably bad as the, "I'll love you forever, no matter what, wife" you'll ever see.if it wasn't so funny you would throw up at how sugary sweet Young tries to project herself.and as bad acting as you'll ever see.

James Wood overacts throughout the whole movie and he's so extremely funny and is way, way over the top, it's just not to be believed, Woods seems like a parody of a cocaine fiend off Saturday Night Live.but watching Woods on `ludes' is worth the price of the rental.

I love it when Woods tells the guy who wants to give him some more `ludes' that he doesn't do that stuff anymore, right before that, Woods just did three giant lines of coke.

This is some very funny stuff.

The ending is so comical but right on par with the rest of the movie.

I think this movie is a great drama, and anti-drug film. It gives a dark feeling, and the true aspects of cocaine, and other drugs. The acting from James Woods, in my opinion, was not over-acted at all. He gave the watcher a feeling like they just snorted a few lines, and where experiencing the same things as himself. Sure, its not the best movie, and there are many better anti-drug movies out there. But, for what its worth, the movie brings you to hell and it leaves you there.

If you did like this movie, or are looking for other good anti-drug movies, my two favorites are Requiem for a Dream, and Trainspotting.

*** out of *****

Woods is one of the best actors in Hollywood.He gives a fine performance as Leny the financial guy.Young who always played the hard and strict women is awesome too.Wonderful music and a story with drugs,copassion between the couple and ups and downs from the power of money.

I saw this film in the theater when it first came out, I'm sorry to say, and it was one of only a few films I have ever wanted to walk out of early. I didn't have a problem with the drug content and I could see how this cautionary tale could have been powerful. The problem was, the film-maker, working with James Woods and Sean Young, drew two of the least lovable characters I have ever seen on film. I hated this pair and couldn't have cared less if they sunk straight to the inevitable bottom. Their was not one surprise in this film. Every turn of events was so painfully obvious that I felt I could have written the script myself; although I like to think I would have done a better job. I subsequently heard nightmarish stories about the incidents on the set between Sean Young and James Woods along the lines of some sort of stalking events. It made me wonder if the terrible acting arose out of some bad feelings and dysfunction. Anyway, I refer to The Boost as the worst film I've ever paid money to see.

I once lived in LA in 1987 and a friend of mine was working on the film The Boost. He asked if I would be interested in being in it, and I took him up on the offer. I was an extra and can be seen in the background of the "pool party" scene (my other up close scene was edited out of the final product). I only worked two nights at a mansion leased for the film from a professional golfer, and was witness to the behind-the-scenes antics of Hollywood. The strangest behavior was actually after the film wrap, when a doll was found hanging on the doorstep of James Woods' home, along with threats which were linked to a specific someone working on the film. Just for the record, James Woods was extremely friendly to all of us on the set. A true gentleman.