Rent Boiler Room on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Ben Younger
Directed by: Ben Younger
Starring: Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Nia Long, Nicky Katt, Scott Caan, Jamie Kennedy, Tom Everett Scott, Ben Affleck
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A college dropout gets a job as a broker for a suburban investment firm which puts him on the fast track to success, but the job might not be as legitimate as it seems.
Verdict
Delving into shady side of stock brokers, Seth finds a job that's too good to be true. While his boisterous coworkers flaunt their wealth, he can't help but wonder what's happening behind the scenes at this company. Seth wants to get rich and simultaneously impress his father, but he jeopardizes everything by being too curious. It's interesting enough, but it references and tries to emulate better movies with mixed results. I'd rather watch Wall Street or Glengarry Glen Ross.
It depends.
Review
This opens with a monologue about not wanting to innovate. Seth (Giovanni Ribisi) just wants to get in the door and make a quick buck. He becomes a stock broker. This shows us a rowdy group of brokers at a hotel wreaking havoc before cutting to three months earlier before Seth got the job. He was a college dropout running an illegal casino in his apartment. His cousin recruits him and he goes to a group interview for a brokerage firm out in Long Island.
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| Giovanni Ribisi plays Seth |
The office is a high testosterone environment with a bunch of guys that have bought into their own self importance. They seem like guys imitating Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, and that's not far from the truth. From the location to the group interview and even the name of the firm, JT Marlin seems like an imitation. The name is quite similar to J.P. Morgan.
Seth just wants to fit in while getting rich. The recruiter promises them they will make a million dollars easily. His coworkers have more money than they know what to do with, and they worship the movie Wall Street. The job also gives Seth the chance to impress his dad. His dad questions the firm. The situation seems too good to be true, but Seth is committed. He wants the wealth his coworkers flaunt.
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| Vin Diesel, Jamie Kennedy, Scott Caan, Nicky Katt play Chris, Adam, Richie, Greg |
There's a scene where a newspaper calls him to sell a subscription. He criticizes the salesman for a weak pitch and coaches him on really selling the benefits. While Seth doesn't buy, he's seeing everything as a transaction. He's doing well, but he becomes suspicious. He can't shake the doubt his father planted, and a number of things he witnesses don't add up. How can they take commissions higher than legally allowed? Why does the firm owner have an empty office full of telephones next door?
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| Giovanni Ribisi plays Seth |
Intercut with Seth's rise in the firm are scenes of Seth's client Harry. He's a father of two that's swayed by Seth's pitch. Harry represents everyone sucked in by this too good to be true pitch that don't want to miss out, and Harry is also Seth's guilt of duping a working man just trying to make ends meet. Harry has plenty of objections, but Seth thwarts them and gets Harry to buy. Even when the stock begins to stumble and Harry is alarmed, Seth talks him down.
Eventually Seth can't ignore the warning signs. He discovers the firm is a scam. JT Marlin artificially inflates the demand for stocks by pushing them on cold calls. These are stocks the owners are invested in. When they peak, the owners sell off and the firm's investors can't sell the worthless stock. The investors take all the loss while the firm profits. Seth plans to right the wrongs, lamenting that his best work was running an illegal casino. While he wanted a legit job in part to please his father, the fact the firm is a scam is yet another disappointment for dad. While his dad disapproves of his method to bring down the firm, he eventually respects Seth's decision to do the right thing.
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