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Boiler Room Customer Reviews (13 - 15 of 24 Reviews)

Back off Affleck
I am not sure why Ben Affleck has so many haters. He is not bad at all in a small part of the recruiter-smoothie-I'm-a-Millionaire. His presentation was about right and I know because for 16 years I worked in a number of firms, very aggressive penny stock firms. The most successful salesman, the OM's, or even the owners of the firm were able to produce the exact effect with words. They could sell paint off the wall. The fact that the public was buying only reinforces the idea that greed and naiveté go hand-in-hand.

Now the script painted this firm as an out of control, SEC rule breaking, machine, but in truth, penny stock firms that are around a while actually work well within the rules of trade. If a salesman guaranteed profit, the jerk would be out on the street in a hurry and the firm closed. No, the penny stock operators are way more subtle than that, though the portrayal of macho-salesmen is somewhat correct. Booze, drugs, and prostitutes are part of that scene. The boys spend dough on fancy cars just to impress each other. When they have sex, they have sex in groups with strippers.

I think Ribisi did a great acting job and his daddy trouble rang true. He did it for the old man indirectly.


STEAMY BUT LUKEWARM
Giovanni Ribisi shows what a versatile and talented young actor he is. Usually relegated to supporting, psycho types of roles, Ribisi does something few actors can effectively do: he gives a brilliant performance in a role he is miscast in. Ribisi plays Seth vitally well, but in no way does he truly fit the character. As many reviewers have noted, would sexy Nia Long single him out of all those hunks to have a fling with? Maybe she got tired of the good looks and empty brains and wanted a brain? But even Seth is pretty stupid in how he fails to see the truth behind this assortment of hucksters. Vin Diesel is revealing in his role, probably the only one he hasn't shown off his body in; Tom Everett Scott is wasted as the company's malevolent owner; Long looks pretty but she seems vacuous and unreal; Ben Affleck gives one of his best performances in his small but impressive role; Scott Caan and Jamie Kennedy don't get to do much but strut; and Taylor Nichols as Harry is marvelous. Ron Rifkin does well as Seth's father, but his performance is undermined by a poorly written script, changing him from the father from Hell into an understanding patriarch. His explanation of what happened when Seth had his bicycle accident borders on camp because it doesn't make any sense. But Ribisi tries hard and does well as always. I hated the score; it did nothing but interfere and punctuate the fact that the best scores are ones written for the movie and provide INSTRUMENTAL accompaniment that forwards the plot, not hinders it. Overly rated, BOILER ROOM also fails to provide closure; we know Seth has "won," but we don't get to see the fruits of his work. Trying too hard to be "artsy" BOILER ROOM offers little suspense or little compensation for the two hours spent watching it. The 3 stars are mainly for the performance of Ribisi and its original theme.

More realistic than you may think!
I am a Stockbroker with 15 years of experience. I began my career working for a firm that was like the firm portrayed in the film in many respects. In fact, I have heard this film was based on a firm that ended up merging with the one I worked for.

The film provides a very accurate portrayal of a Small Cap firm from the late 80s to early 90s. For example, the recruitment process was perfect. You didn't need a resume, you didn't need an education and they didn't want people who already had licenses. They wanted raw recruits that didn't know anything and they made money on the testing process.

After you passed the test, you received no training, you got a list (any way you could) and cold called until you opened an account on what they told you to buy. If you didn't open accounts within a month you were out. In the film, they cut off Riblisi's tie as a right of passage. In my firm, the first time you did $1000 in commissions in a single day they cut off your tie.

Other things are realisitic as well; the fact that the firm has positions in the stocks that they sell and there is extra commission at certain moments, the Brokers all know every word of the movie- Wall Street, that they have big houses or apartments with no furniture, they drink and get into scrapes as a group, that all happened at my firm.

There are many more examples of parallels between the firm in the movie and the experiences of the main characters and my own real life experiences. This movie may seem outrageous or over the top to some, but, it is as accurate as a movie about this subject could be.

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