The movie focuses on the main character, Jonathan Belfort. At the beginning, Jonathan is just a young guy with a wife that is pursuing the American dream - making it rich. Jonathan figures the best way to do that is on Wall Street. And he's smart so he picks up on things right away and gets his stock broker license - on the day that the stock market crashes, putting him and everyone else out of a job.
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But then he discovers penny stocks. People still want to get rich but they don't have loads of money to put into it. But they can invest a couple thousand dollars. From that and what he learned on Wall Street, Jonathan recruits a few guys from the old neighbor and starts up a business that grows rapidly.
So what if that business is not totally on the up-and-up? It's making money! And lots of it. Before they know it, these guys are in deeper than they ever imagined it could get. Drugs, prostitutes, and more are part of their lives now. But so is money and that's all that matters to them.
Best part of story, including ending:
I loved the action and the excitement. And even though Jonathan turned into a not very nice guy, I couldn't help liking him. He's enthusiastic and seems to really love the people he's with and he's got loads of passion.
Best scene in story:
My favorite scene was when Jonathan was telling his staff why he wouldn't be leaving (even though the FBI was after him) and he tells everyone the story of how one of his female employees got started, as a single mom, in a man's business and how she never gave up. And that's why he wasn't going to give up. It was a pretty inspiring speech for a bad guy.