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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.

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.

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.

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.