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Scott Marks

Scott Marks is a Reader contributor. See staff page for published articles.

Jordan Belfort – wolf on Wall Street? No, scumbag

"I refuse to see it...because DiCaprio is playing the role of a self-professed scumbag who is clearly proud of his thefts." Are you kidding me, Don? Better to blame a prurient nature and the 500 "f@@ks." What did you think of "The Godfather(s)" or "Dallas Buyers Club" or "Scarface" (Hawks, not De Palma), or "Inglorious Basterds" or "Notorious" (Hitch, not Biggie) or "The French Connection" or "Blue Velvet" or for that matter any film with an unrepentant scumball, gangster, and/or Nazi at its core? Surely you must have encountered (and enjoyed) at least one of the aforementioned titles. Rule #1: the more reprehensible the villain the better the picture! What Marty does -- that you seem incapable of doing -- is paint an unbiased portrait of a shitheel. Not once does He judge or sentimentalize; He shows it like it is. Had you bothered to see the film before condemning it, Will Hays, Jr., you'd realize it's hardly a celebration of a life well spent. If the real-life Belfort shows no remorse about his actions, it sure in hell would have been disingenuous of Marty to depict it in any other manner than the one He chose. (Maybe a post-credit disclaimer card spelling out for simpletons just what a prick Belfort is would have helped.) As for the poor victims, there'd have been no books or movie were they not smaller-scale Belforts -- greedy, gullible mopes looking for their slice of pie on the sky. And if the guy is such a human slug, why waste precious hours of your life reading *two* books about him? You're almost as obsessed with Jordy as I am Marty! C'mon, Don. You know you want to see it. Any by all means, take the missus! http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2014/j…
— January 30, 2014 4:10 p.m.

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