Wall Street (1987), by Stanley Weiser and Oliver Stone

Written by Stanley Weiser and Oliver Stone
Starring Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah, Martin Sheen
Released by 20th Century Fox, 1987
Rated R for language, some sexual content, and drug use
Running time: 126 minutes

Author’s note: This review contains spoilers for Wall Street (1987).

Movies about the financial industry typically reflect the common belief that Wall Street is a corrupt place, rife with con men who lie, cheat, and deceive in order to make millions.¹ Unfortunately, Wall Street (1987) is no exception. But it does have some redeeming qualities.

Written by Stanley Weiser and Oliver Stone, Wall Street follows the ambitious young stockbroker Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) as he captures the attention of the legendary financier Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). The film begins with Bud at a New York City brokerage firm, where he has been unsuccessfully cold-calling Gekko for weeks to land him as a client. Obsessed with the prospect of working with his hero, Bud eventually goes to Gekko’s office to pitch him trading ideas. He reveals insider information about the problems of BlueStar Airlines, where his father, Carl (Martin Sheen), works. Gekko uses this information to make a successful trade in BlueStar and hires Bud to manage some of his money.

Later in the film, Bud pitches Gekko an idea to acquire BlueStar and make the company more efficient. However, once Bud recognizes that Gekko intends to destroy the company for his own benefit, he seeks revenge, manipulates BlueStar stock, and causes Gekko to lose millions. They are both ultimately punished by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Gekko represents what many consider the quintessence of a Wall Street financier: a man who is willing to do anything—even if illegal or immoral—to make millions. He is a walking, talking package deal exemplifying the trope that the pursuit of wealth is inherently evil. He correctly identifies wealth as a key motivator for human progress, saying, “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good” because it “clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, [for] knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind.”² This is true. Greed, to the extent that it means rational ambitiousness, is good. But the meaning of these words is inverted when spoken, as they are in Wall Street, by a man who abuses others for his short-term gain in disregard of the full context of his knowledge.

To its credit, the movie does indicate the self-destructive and secondhand nature of Gekko’s ways—in particular with the character of Bud. Before Bud turns against Gekko, he is captivated by Gekko’s avarice and adopts his unsavory business practices. But he finds no happiness in the wealth he acquired illegitimately. He buys a lavish apartment only so that others will envy him. He adorns his apartment with modern art not because he likes it, but because his girlfriend, similarly superficial, tells him it is the only style worth having. He becomes arrogant after being promoted at the brokerage firm. His relationships become strained, and his girlfriend leaves him. Eventually, Bud loses sight of what it means to value anything.

Wall Street was not the first film to observe that money can’t buy happiness. It has been illustrated throughout the ages, but few have analyzed the truth so lucidly as Ayn Rand in her novel Atlas Shrugged.

As Francisco d’Anconia states,

money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver. It will give you the means for the satisfaction of your desires, but it will not provide you with desires. . . .

Money will not purchase happiness for the man who has no concept of what he wants: money will not give him a code of values, if he’s evaded the knowledge of what to value, and it will not provide him with a purpose, if he’s evaded the choice of what to seek. Money will not buy intelligence for the fool, or admiration for the coward, or respect for the incompetent.³

Unfortunately, Weiser and Stone imply that the pursuit of money is a fool’s errand, that a career in finance is inherently parasitic, and that virtually any other career is morally preferable. Early in the film, Carl expresses his disapproval of Bud’s career choice, stating that he should have become a doctor, a lawyer, or an executive at BlueStar. He advises Bud to “Stop going for the easy buck and start producing something with your life. Create instead of living off the buying and selling of others.”⁴ Carl is portrayed as the primary hero of the film, but he fails to recognize that a career as a stockbroker is a legitimate, productive profession that helps in the complex process of creating wealth by allocating money to its most productive uses in the economy.

The true hero of Wall Street is Lou Mannheim (Hal Holbrook), loosely based on Oliver Stone’s father, Lou Stone.⁵ He is a nice contrast to Gekko, exemplifying what many traders on Wall Street actually are: moral individuals who achieve their goals through hard work, patience, and honesty. Intended to represent Wall Street’s “conscience,” Mannheim appears only briefly, serving as Bud’s mentor. He cautions Bud against defrauding others, looking for shortcuts, or concerning himself with how others perceive him.⁶ It is remarkable that Stone made the film as a tribute to his father, yet implies that such men are a tiny minority and demonizes the profession.

Although fraudsters certainly exist on Wall Street—people like Bernie Madoff and Ivan Boesky (the latter was inspiration for Gekko)—the vast majority of traders are honest, value driven, and focused on innovating and creating wealth.⁷ Were this not the case, the stock market would not have the aggregate upward trajectory that it has always had.

Wall Street (1987) is a mixed film, accurately portraying some aspects of the financial profession and unjustly demonizing it, too. But it is sufficiently thought provoking and philosophical to recommend watching or rewatching. I think you’ll find it rich.

About F. F. Mormanni

F. F. Mormanni is a Juilliard-trained flutist and harpist now working in finance. She is the author of Double Crossed, a medical techno-thriller. Learn more at ffmormanni.com.

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