Boiler Room

Before you decide whether to watch "Boiler Room" you need to decide if you are willing to watch a movie with the F-bomb being dropped 323420854 times. It is an excellent film...but if you are offended by cursing, look elsewhere.

The story is about Seth, a young man with little in the way of conscience. Instead of working hard the normal and expected way, Seth wants to cut corners. So while his peers go to college, he skips classes and opens a casino in his house...and makes a ton of money. However, Seth's hard-as-nails father is naturally disappointed in him...and makes that obvious. Wanting to make something of himself and impress his dad, Seth goes to work for a trading company. But this is not exactly the Wall Street variety firm but instead their attitude is say and do ANYTHING to make the sale...anything. They're obviously a sleazy outfit but just how sleazy is something Seth has to discover for himself...and even with Seth is a bit appalled by this...but he loves all the money!

The film is coarse and crass--and this is appropriate for the 20- somethings that star in the film. They are, by and large, guys with no souls and are motivated by greed and self-indulgence. The overall film is much like "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Wall Street" merged into one...and targeted to a slightly younger audience. Well made and hard to see without being impressed. However, I am very surprised that after writing and directing such a fine film that Ben Younger STILL is mostly making short films and his feature career hasn't taken off. I'd sure love to know why...

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.

I remember when i had a short stint working for this telemarketing company, my boss used to always say "A sale is made on every call. Either you sell them what you are selling or they sell you an excuse." This is the message that this film hammers through: the lure of fast money and the power of persuation; you can destroy someone's life with one phonecall. Now unlike the characters in Boiler Room, im not trying to scam you out of your life savings- so stop reading these reviews and see the movie. You won't regret it. 8/10

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 !!!!

The plot in Boiler Room is true to reality. A friend of mine was telling me about an outfit he used to work for in the 80's. Worked just like JT Marlin. They switched name three times in two years. My friend called people who lived far away so he wouldn't have to run into them at the grocery store.

The way the company keeps their brokers hungry is by encouraging excessive spending, such as luxury cars, so they have to make even more money to keep up with the lifestyle.

Boiler Room has a group of young actors that all play their parts well. Giovanni Ribisi makes a good appearance, and Nia Long needs to be in more movies.