Can't really say too many bad things about this movie. It was actually pretty decent, if a little far fetched. Giovanni Ribisi plays Seth Davis. The guy who wants to be rich, fast. He runs a 24/7 casino out of his apartment and it's pretty funny to see customers knock on his door early in the morning to gamble. Everything is running pretty smoothly and even though his father (the judge) doesn't approve, he doesn't turn him in either. An old acquaintance stops by with a buddy. Tells Seth that they like to recruit him into their firm. Nothing is said as to WHY Seth is the right guy for the job. Maybe it's because he's running a successful casino in his apartment. Still, his friend Adam (Jamie Kennedy) and the recruiter (Greg - Nicky Katt) don't tell us why. So Seth, after cleaning Greg out of some cash at the casino table, takes the offer and head to the interview the next day. There they meet Jim (Ben Affleck) who dismisses two people right of the bat. I won't tell you why. See the movie. Affleck is excellent in these type of roles. Like his counter part Matt Damon, Ben is great at speak loud and fast with lots of emotion. He give the interviewees the load down on how to make a million dollars just 3 years. Everyone buys the pitch and it's off to training.
**** Light Spoilers ****
Seth does his three months of training under the mean spirited Greg who thinks that Seth is out to steal his old girlfriend Abbie (Nia Long). Even though Abbie dumped Greg weeks ago and is taking a liking to Seth. Still Greg believe that Seth is trying to step over him as Seth starts to close stock deals at a rapid rate. Everything is going smoothly until Seth becomes suspicious after seeing a co-worker who runs the books, shredding documents. Then he sees Michael (Tom Everett Scott) looking for a larger leasing office. Nothing is mention about how Michael because CEO of the company, but everyone respects his leadership none the less. When FBI agents start getting involved things turn for the worse. I won't give anymore of it away. You'll just have to see it for yourself.
The only thing I didn't like about the film was the way it ended. I would have liked it to have gone on for another 10-15 mins to see what ended up happening in the office. The "original ending" on the DVD was even worse. Again, you really want to see the next 10-15 mins after the movie ends. Also, the premise was really far fetched. The firm seemed to have been around for a long time and I find it very hard to believe that people would buy stocks over the phone with a company that's not recognizable. Even if they are recognizable, most high stock purchasers either already have a broker or do it themselves online. Also, the people who were losing all this money would have eventually hired a detective to investigate the situation. I can see it happening, but not on the scale that was involved in the movie. Rich people aren't as dumb as the film made them out to be. I would also think that the employees calling would wonder why they are selling stock for companies that are going out of business. Also the "rips - (commission)" were way to high.
Overall the movie is worth a rental. It's worth watching a couple of times. I own the DVD, but will probably sell it after a couple more viewings. I gave it a 7 out of 10.
**** Light Spoilers ****
Seth does his three months of training under the mean spirited Greg who thinks that Seth is out to steal his old girlfriend Abbie (Nia Long). Even though Abbie dumped Greg weeks ago and is taking a liking to Seth. Still Greg believe that Seth is trying to step over him as Seth starts to close stock deals at a rapid rate. Everything is going smoothly until Seth becomes suspicious after seeing a co-worker who runs the books, shredding documents. Then he sees Michael (Tom Everett Scott) looking for a larger leasing office. Nothing is mention about how Michael because CEO of the company, but everyone respects his leadership none the less. When FBI agents start getting involved things turn for the worse. I won't give anymore of it away. You'll just have to see it for yourself.
The only thing I didn't like about the film was the way it ended. I would have liked it to have gone on for another 10-15 mins to see what ended up happening in the office. The "original ending" on the DVD was even worse. Again, you really want to see the next 10-15 mins after the movie ends. Also, the premise was really far fetched. The firm seemed to have been around for a long time and I find it very hard to believe that people would buy stocks over the phone with a company that's not recognizable. Even if they are recognizable, most high stock purchasers either already have a broker or do it themselves online. Also, the people who were losing all this money would have eventually hired a detective to investigate the situation. I can see it happening, but not on the scale that was involved in the movie. Rich people aren't as dumb as the film made them out to be. I would also think that the employees calling would wonder why they are selling stock for companies that are going out of business. Also the "rips - (commission)" were way to high.
Overall the movie is worth a rental. It's worth watching a couple of times. I own the DVD, but will probably sell it after a couple more viewings. I gave it a 7 out of 10.