STORYLINE:
When an ambitious young man from a working class family got a job with a respected Wall Street brokerage company, he sought business from a famous Wall Street merger & acquisition mogul. Persistence, a birthday, and a box of choice Cuban cigars seemed to have landed him an opportunity, but his big chance involved him ultimately in a Faustian deal. From this experience he came to better understand the expression, “Every dog has its day,” and its corollary, “Bad dogs may go to the pound.” However, in the end the young man had at least learned how to make a deal.
PLOT DETAILS:
This film opened to an early morning shot of the Brooklyn Bridge, followed by a close-up of a fish’s head at the Fulton Fish Market. Frank Sinatra’s voice began to sing “Fly Me To The Moon,” as the camera panned the skyscrapers. There were brief cuts to commuter trains, crowds in subways, crowds walking sidewalks, crowds in elevators, as the figure of Charlie Sheen’s character, Bud Fox, could be picked out on his way to work at Jackson Steinem & Company. It’s just another day on Wall Street.
As Bud Fox entered the office proper several minutes prior to the opening bell for trading, he was greeted by the receptionists and other co-workers. He particularly interacted with Marvin, a neighboring account executive. There were exchanges with Lou Mannheim, a rather dour superior who was much-given to Graham-approved nuggets of advice. Lynch, another superior, loomed now and then – generally suggesting mild disapproval of Bud. It was Lynch who pushed the relatively “new kid on the block,” Bud, to “cold calls” from a list of six figure investors. The viewer got to witness a few failed efforts by Bud that suggested the tough road represented by this way to wealth.
Bud had been working on an investor goliath, Gordon Gekko, whose notorious trading company, Gekko & Company, moved a lot of stock in and out of selected targets. If Bud could land even a small part of Gekko’s business, his money problem days would be history.
There was a brief cut that allowed viewers to meet Bud’s “old man,” Carl from whom he had to ask for a few hundred dollars to help cover an adverse client situation at Jackson Steinem. This afforded an interesting look at two men heading in different directions. As a matter of fact, Carl was jibed at one point by Bud as always preaching “workers of the world…”
Bud got his five-minute chance with Gordon Gekko. After apparently failing to interest Gekko with stock suggestions, he made the fateful decision to share privileged information about Blue Star Transportation, a small airline, which he had just learned at his meeting with his father, Carl. It was insider information, and that was just the sort of fare that piqued the interest of Gekko.
The meeting ended without evidence that Bud had “scored” with Gekko. However, back at Jackson Steinem, he discovered orders coming in and directions given by Gordon Gekko & Company.
Not only did Bud score with his new goliath investor, but – out of the blue – a beautiful blonde named Darien Taylor invites him out on the town. They had barely gotten into a taxi before she was sharing cocaine and opening his zipper. He had entered the fast lane.
The film provided a number of vignettes that were snapshots of a young man enjoying the material rewards attendant on nearly instant success.
While Gekko’s companies (including off-shore) took possession of a large chunk of Blue Star stock, he began to inquire of Bud where another Blue Star opportunity was for him to consider. Bud had none to give. This led to Gekko making him an offer to proceed in a fashion that Bud had considered unethical and in violation of stock market rules. For the good life Bud decided to “cross the Rubicon” and become Gekko’s man.
Bud Fox was told to pursue an investment rival of Gordon Gekko by the name of Sir Larry Wildman, who had come to America on some obvious mission. Gekko told Bud to find out all that could be discovered discreetly – or otherwise.
When Bud discovered that Sir Harry was flying to Eire, Pennsylvania, he realized, as did Gekko when informed, that Sir Harry was after Anacott Steel. Gordon Gekko immediately put out the order to his chief trader to start buying Anacott Steel at certain prices. Further, he told Bud that at a certain price, he was to call a contact at the Chronicle and say that “Blue Horse Shoe loves Anacott Steel.” The churning of the stock had begun.
Now, at some point of the movie about now, there was a brief indication that official stock-watching authorities had noticed some possibly suspicious trading activity in stocks handled by Bud.
Meanwhile, Bud had really gotten tight with Gordon who proclaimed “I’m going to make you a very rich man.” Bud met Gordon’s wife, Kate, and some of his crowd at his home. Darien Taylor was there, too. They made an informal date arrangement. To jazz up the gathering, Sir Larry Wildman dropped by to request a private meeting, at which he expressed his indignation at Gekko’s manipulation of the stock of Anacott Steel. They reached a Wall Street bandito’s agreement that made Gordon a ton of money. He was elated.
He, Bud and Gekko’s attorney met to arrange for Bud to have a power-of-attorney discretion in all Gekko & Company stock transactions. After signing, Bud would assume all responsibility for Gordon’s stock dealings with him. Gordon would not necessarily know anything about a given deal.
Well, as ‘tis said, “What goes around, come around.”
Bud had lured a Wall Street lawyer he had known in college to cooperate with him in some offshore stock transactions of a dubious kind. Once again the sound of easy money – big money – was music to an ambitious ear. But the day came when this lawyer got a call from a man at the SEC.
Meanwhile, Blue Star Transportation was having financial problems, and there was speculation that it was headed for bankruptcy. If it went through bankruptcy, the workers in the three main unions would get shafted. There was a lot of pressure placed on Carl to protect his men.
Bud thought he could save Blue Star. He went to Gordon Gekko to request that he be allowed to handle this deal as a principal. Apparently approved, Bud set about arranging the pieces so that a Blue Star deal could be made to save the airline. He called a meeting of the heads of the three unions to propose a wage cut of 20% across the board. Gordon was there to outline his vision. Two of the labor union heads agreed tentatively, but to Bud’s embarrassment, his father denounced Gekko and his deal.
Under all the pressure – possibly helped along by cigarette smoking, Carl had a heart attack. At a meeting with his son, he agreed to at least let his men hear Bud and Gordon’s pitch and decide for themselves.
Bud was acting with the good intention of saving Blue Star. In short order he learned that Gordon was not. Gekko’s intention was to break up and destroy Blue Star for the maximum profit available, ripping off pension funds and selling any valuable part. This sobering perception led Bud to a fateful conference with Sir Harry Wildman.
Eager to punish Gordon Gekko for driving up the price of the Anacott Steel deal, Sir Harry entered into a plot with Bud to save Blue Star and force Gordon to sell his shares at a steep loss.
Meanwhile, the feds were closing in on the stock manipulation.
Things went according to the plan, propelled by an adroit series of maneuvers initiated by Bud Fox. He was able to save Blue Star, which was a gift to his father. However, he was not able to save himself from the consequences of earlier maneuvers. Yet, even here he was able to make a deal.
Sir Harry enjoyed his revenge.
The fate of Gordon Gekko would depend upon the skill of his lawyer. One can only speculate as the film fades into black.
COMMENTARY:
This movie concentrated a Wall Street way of life for “movers and shakers” so that it was readily understandable to the average viewer. Gordon Gekko’s “Sermon on the Board of Directors” was an unparalleled justification for a parasitic life. In CABERET we were informed that “money makes the world go around.” In this movie we were told that “greed makes the world go round.” There were examples across the board from the successful mighty to the failed and fired.
In contrast to the greedy strivings of the Wall Street crowd, a group of working-class people were shown in their work environment, as well as its union leaders getting involved with the machinations of “angels” and “takeover artists.”
The bridge between the two groups was Bud Fox, the young ambitious Account Executive at Jackson Steinem & Company.
Incidentally, Bud’s father, Carl, may have had his name intentionally selected by the writers to pay homage to Karl Marx, as the film suggested that Carl had sympathy for Communism. Be that as it may, as a labor leader at his company, Carl was entirely of, by, and for the workers. He was the antithesis of Gordon Gekko, who was surely a “capitalist pig.”
When Carl had his heart attack, it symbolized the grief he felt at the course of action taken by his son to become “rich & famous.”
Michael Douglas was very good indeed as Gordon Gekko, and the others in the cast provided solid-to-good performances. One character who appeared briefly was Dolores the Realtor, played by Sylvia Miles. She was a scene stealer.
Films of this type don’t come along too often. Oliver Stone did a remarkable job. It is a very good production well worth seeing.
PRODUCTION KEYS:
Oliver Stone – director/writer, Stanley Weiser – writer, Stewart Copeland – original music, Robert Richardson – cinematography, Claire Simpson – film editing
CAST KEYS:
Charlie Sheen (Bud Fox), Michael Douglas (Gordon Gekko), Martin Sheen (Carl Fox), Daryl Hannah (Darien Taylor), Terence Stamp (Sir Larry Wildman), John C. McGinley (Marvin), Hal Holbrook (Lou Mannheim), James Karen (Lynch), Sean Young (Kate Gekko), Sylvia Miles (Dolores the Realtor), Pat Skipper (Postal Inspector), John Deyle (U.S. Attorney), John Galateo (SEC Man)
Comments