Current cinema: Boiler Room

Written and directed by Ben Younger; starring Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck, Nia Long, Nicky Katt, Tom Everett Scott and Ron Rifkin. Boiler Room, the new movie by first time writer and director Ben Younger, begins with a narration by the film’s protagonist, Seth Davis (Giovanni Ribisi). Seth quotes rap artist Biggie Smalls, “Either you’re slingin’ crack or you got a wicked jump shot,” to point out the dearth of options available to escape his bleak upbringing. We quickly learn that Seth is the son of two loving parents and that his father (Ron Rifkin) is a New York judge. He recently dropped out of college and makes a bundle running an illicit casino out of his apartment in Queens, leaving us to wonder, what exactly about his upbringing was bleak? This is not the movie’s only incongruity. The story of Seth Davis, who joins a Long Island brokerage firm named J.T. Marlin to earn his father’s respect, and then discovers that the company that promised to make him a millionaire is actually being investigated for unethical and illegal practices, is teeming with inconsistencies and enigmas. This is unfortunate because other than these discrepancies, and the occasional awkward moment that will likely leave you with your hand smacked against your forehead, wondering “What the hell just happened?” Boiler Room isn’t that bad. In fact, the first half of the film is actually pretty good. Boiler Room has been hailed as a Wall Street meets Glengarry Glen Ross for the millennium, perhaps explaining the film’s inconsistencies. At its best, Boiler Room captures the vacuous materialism and urgency associated with sales – and David Mamet films. The J.T. Marlin brokers, all of whom are from the outer boroughs and include Ben Affleck, Vin Diesel and Nicky Katt, are not elite Wall Street investors. Wearing cheesy Canali suits and modeling themselves after illustrious characters from films past – the firms motto “Always Be Closing” is borrowed from Glengarry Glen Ross and the characters can recite the lines from Wall Street verbatim – the investors aspire to the high-five, fast-paced, make-your-first-million-in-less-then-three-years world of Wall Street. Quick cuts combined with a hip hop soundtrack intensify the urgency associated with the profession. Unfortunately, when Seth develops a conscience, Younger abandons the quick Mametian dialogue and the film loses its edge. Tender moments between father and son are as insufferable as when Charlie Sheen looks into the dark New York night and ponders, “Who am I?” in Wall Street. Younger also develops a relationship between Seth and the firm’s receptionist (Nia Long) that is so feeble it’s absurd. Unfortunately, all of the awkward moments occur towards the end of the film and therefore leave the audience wondering, “What happened to the bright and original movie I was watching an hour ago?”