Billionaire Boys Club

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Billionaire Boys Club is one of those movies that seemed like it came out at the worst time it possibly could. It’s one of those movies whose release was affected by elements entirely out of its control. The movie was filmed in 2015, and was scheduled to receive a wide release. But, when sexual allegations were made against Kevin Spacey, the film’s release was changed to that of a quiet on demand release alongside a very limited theatrical release. The movie is based on true story. In the 1980s, Joe Hunt and Dean Karney (played by Ansel Elgort and Taron Egerton respectively) start a ponzi scheme that gets them entangled in a series of lies that ultimately leads to dire consequences. This is one of those movies that was seemingly released to seething hatred. It has an 8% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 30 on Metacritic. Don’t get me wrong, this is a bad movie. However, I didn’t find it nearly bad enough to get worked up about. The acting is easily this movie’s greatest strength. It’s actually well-acted. Say what you will about Kevin Spacey as a person, but you can’t deny that the man is a phenomenal actor (and this is really no exception). As far as I’m concerned, Emma Roberts is this movie’s standout. She lends her character some charisma. The directing in the film is sort of standard. Director James Cox shows some semblance of competence behind the camera. The problem is that nothing about it really stands out. Anybody really could have directed it. Everything that has to do with the writing is really where this movie falls apart. The only reason some of these characters can be remotely entertaining is because they are played by actors who clearly have charm and charisma. With the exception Roberts’ character (named Sydney), they are all really unlikable. An argument could be made that this was supposed to be the point. Unfortunately, this movie needed a filmmaker who could specialize in despicable yet charming characters (think Martin Scorsese or Quentin Tarantino). I feel that this leads to my next problem with the movie. It just meanders for a good chunk of its running time. Billionaire Boys Club is one of those movies that had so much potential. It has an interesting story that doesn’t feel like it’s particularly well explored. The movie wastes an all-too talented cast. What we got in the end was a dull, third rate Wolf of Wall Street knock-off. It’s far from the worst thing I’ve ever seen, it’s just middling. 

4 / 10