The film Wall Street (1987), directed by Oliver Stone, tells the story of a stockbroker named Bud Fox living in New York City. Bud Fox, played by Charlie Sheen, is a junior stockbroker and, more than anything, he wants to work for Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas. Gordon Gekko is a well known Wall Street player and an extremely wealthy man. After months of persistently calling Gekko’s office, Bud finally gets a meeting with him after bringing him a birthday gift of his favorite cigars. Before the appointment, Bud meets up with his father Carl, played by Martin Sheen, who is a Bluestar Airline employee and union leader. His father mentions that Bluestar Airlines was about to be found innocent in a major lawsuit. At the meeting with Gekko, Bud proposes many stocks, however, Gekko seems bored and disinterested in his selections. Bud, who is now desperate, reveals the inside information regarding Bluestar Airlines in hopes to impress Gekko. By the end of the meeting Gekko is non-committal, but he later gives Bud a large amount of money to manage.
Unfortunately for Bud, Gekko’s portfolio does poorly and loses value. Gekko gives Bud a second chance to redeem himself by spying on British CEO Sir Lawrence Wildman, one of Gekko’s stock rivals. Bud agrees even though he realizes that this would be trading on insider information, which is illegal. Gekko begins to teach Bud about how to manipulate the stock system in illegal ways to make a profit. This includes following people and understanding that “greed is good.” Bud realizes that Wildman wants to buy up a steel stock and then Gekko buys it, forcing Wildman to buy it back at a much higher price.
Bud continues to trade on insider information and enjoys a promotion at work, a new girlfriend, a new apartment and lots of money. At this point, Bud suggests to Gekko that he buy Bluestar Airlines and that, with Bud as the new president, they can make it a successful and profitable airline. Although Carl disagrees, Bud convinces the other company leaders to agree to the plan. Soon after, Bud discovers that Gekko intends to sell off all of Bluestar’s assets leaving Carl and the entire Bluestar staff unemployed. Then, Carl has a heart attack and Bud rushes to his hospital room and apologizes to him for doubting him.
Then, as revenge, Bud creates a plan to increase the price of Bluestar’s stock before manipulating it down very low. Along with other Bluestar Airline leaders, he secretly meets with Wildman and arranges for him to buy controlling interest in Bluestar Airlines at a much cheaper price. This would ruin Gekko’s plan to sell off Bluestar Airlines’ assets and allow for the workers to keep their jobs. So, Bud put his plan into action. Just as Bud had engineered, Gekko sells his stock in the company for a loss on Bud’s advice and Wildman buys it up therefore taking controlling ownership of Bluestar Airlines.
After Gekko realized that Bud had double-crossed him, he tipped the investigators off to Bud’s activities. The next day, the police and Securities and Exchange Commission arrest Bud at work for insider trading. A while later, Fox confronts Gekko in Central Park on a rainy day. Gekko violently assaults Fox and yells at him for his betrayal. During the conversation, Gekko mentions several of their illegal business dealings. As it turns out, Bud was wearing a recording device which he hands over to the police to help them convict Gekko of his illegal actions. In the final scene, Bud goes to court with his parents to take responsibility for his insider trading actions. It can be assumed that he will serve jail time, however, it will likely be reduced due to his cooperation in the charges against Gordon Gekko.
Released on December 11th, 1987 by 20th Century Fox, Wall Street was written by Oliver Stone and Stanley Weiser. Interestingly, Gordon Gekko is loosely based on Ivan Boesky, a notorious speculator convicted of insider trading. In fact, Oliver Stone claimed he got the “greed is good” line from Ivan Boesky’s 1986 commencement address. In reality, Boesky said “greed is healthy,” which Stone mistakenly remembered as “greed is right.” The movie was filmed in multiple locations in New York City including 21 Club, Sheep Meadow in Central Park, Tavern on the Green, and the New York County Supreme Court. The film was well received by the public. It earned a 78% on Rotten Tomatoes and an audience score of 81%. Additionally, it substantially benefited Charlie Sheen’s career. Furthermore, Michael Douglas, who played Gordon Gekko, won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the film.
Wall Street reflects two course themes discussed in The Arts of New York City course. First, it deals with New York City characters and lifestyles. The film explores the lifestyles of wealthy stockbrokers that inhabit New York City. It does this by contrasting Buds new luxurious life with his life before he began working with Gordon Gekko. This is even further contrasted to the lifestyle of Carl Fox, Bud’s father, when Bud tells him “There’s no nobility in poverty.” Additionally, the move elaborates on the theme of morals and norms. The film comments on moral codes connected business and personal ethics by demonstrating the ease with Gekko was willing to conduct illegal business and destroy hundreds of jobs for a profit. For Gekko, his unethical behavior did not even register for him as wrong. For him, it was just business and he did not feel responsible for contemplating the effects of his actions on the Bluestar Airline workers. The film successfully depicted the characters and cultures that defined New York business in the 1980s.
Video Links:
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b4BcbhGggM
Greed Is Good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF_iorX_MAw
How much is Enough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDD1tW59Mjg
Works Cited
“Awards for Wall Street.” Turner Classic Movies. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
Wall Street. Dir. Oliver Stone. Perf. Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah, Martin Sheen, and Hal Holbrook. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1987.
“Wall Street Film Locations.” On the Set of New York. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
“Wall Street.” Rotten Tomatoes. N.p., 20 Nov. 2005. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
Samuel, Patrick. “Wall Street.” STATIC MASS EMPORIUM. N.p., 25 May 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
