The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

The Wolf of Wall Street is a three-hour warning label, and a lot of people watched it like a how-to video. That’s partly on Martin Scorsese. He makes the yachts, the office parties and the phone pitches look so fun that the people Jordan Belfort ripped off barely get a single scene. Leonardo DiCaprio goes all in anyway. The bit where his legs stop working and he has to crawl down a set of country club steps to his car is the best physical comedy of his whole career. Jonah Hill’s Donnie is a walking bad decision who never once uses his indoor voice. Matthew McConaughey gets one lunch scene and it’s the part everybody quotes. Still, 179 minutes is a lot, and the last hour keeps throwing the same party with sadder lighting. The world loved it: 1.83 million IMDb ratings averaging 8.2. An 8.3 because it’s the funniest movie ever made about people you should never trust with your money. $4,681 says you make somebody try to sell you a pen at dinner this week.

What works: DiCaprio’s fearless physical comedy and Scorsese’s nonstop energy, plus a McConaughey lunch scene that steals the whole first act.

What doesn’t: At 179 minutes it repeats the same excess over and over, and the people Belfort hurt are almost invisible.

Who it’s for: People who love a charming villain and don’t mind spending three hours with someone they’d never give their bank password.