From what I understand, "The Wolf of Wall Street" is loosely based on a real-life individual. However, director Martin Scorsese delivers such an over-the-top caricature that either Jordan Belfort was truly the wildest individual to ever roam this planet or this is the most bonkers "based on a true story" liberty-taking of all time.

For a very basic overview, this film tells the story of Belfort (Leonard DiCaprio), a Wall Street banker who experiences a market crash on his first day in NYC. As such, he starts his own firm--Stratton Oakmont--duping clients into buying massive amounts of penny stocks. But Belfort is an excellent con man, and soon he's challenging Wall Street institutions in terms of profit. Along the way, he lives the most profane, drug-addled, sexually promiscuous, over-the-top lifestyle one could possibly imagine. All this puts him on the radar of the FBI, of course, in particular Agent Denham (Kyle Chandler) who is out for the bust of his life.

At heart, I think "Wolf of Wall Street" is a parody of Wall Street culture--the kind of shyster existence that generates as much depravity as it does wealth. I'm sure there are some genuine lessons to be learned from all that.

The problem here is that Scorsese leans so hard into the debauchery of the whole scene that by the end I didn't find anything or anyone likable. I don't consider myself a prude by any means (especially when it comes to movies), but the amount of profanity, drug use, and sexual antics in "Wolf" did reach--and surpass--my limits. There is not a nuanced moment in the entire picture--everything is a slap to the face, so to speak.

All of that being said, there are just enough things happening in "Wolf" to make it somewhat memorable: DiCaprio is on fire from beginning to end, Margot Robbie is utterly entrancing, Jonah Hill is reliable solid, and it has certainly produced some gif-able moments or speeches.

But other than those aesthetic pop culture snippets, I found the whole of "The Wolf of Wall Street" to be quite a mess. Mainly for a lack of nuance in trying to convey any sort of message about Wall Street and its ilk. By the end, I felt bludgeoned to death as opposed to thoughtful or engaged.