Boiler Room

R

Released Feb 18, 2000

2 hr. 0 min.

Drama

List

66%

104 Reviews

Tomatometer

78%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Welcome to the infamous "boiler room" -- where twenty something millionaires are made overnight. Here, in the inner sanctum of a fly-by-night brokerage firm, hyper-aggressive young stock jocks peddle to unsuspecting buyers over the phone -- and are rewarded with mansions, Ferraris and more luxury toys than they know what to do with. In this unassuming Long Island enclave, Gen Xers chase the green at breakneck speeds, sometimes one step ahead of the law.

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Critics Consensus

Its ending is disappointingly tidy, but Boiler Room boasts just enough sharp writing and brisk pacing to make getting there worthwhile.

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Eye C

It's a nice movie, it's just left you high and dry, when it could give you the pleasure of closure. I don't know, it's ok, I guess.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/26/23

Full Review

ed v

Pretty accurate depiction of 2000s New York. Giovanni Ribisi gives a great performance. I stand behind my theory that Ben Affleck is the worst part of every movie he's in. The monologue he rattles off about how rich and successful he is, is the most generic and vague description of wealth I can imagine. The BS stock pushing is the biggest take away.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/06/23

Full Review

jelisije j

An absolute tribute to movies about the stock market scams.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Movie has familiar faces. Good pacing and story. Only negative is the love story cause it seemed shoehorned in.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The opening of the "stock jock" stampede with Seth's (Giovanni Ribisi) narration offered a movie that never materialized into what was promised — fitting for the film's topic. I remember watching Boiler Room back in the early 2000s and thought how insane the whole concept was to begin with — handing over thousands of dollars, sometimes a life-saving's worth, to someone you've never met to invest in something you don't know anything about because they called you on the phone? Nevertheless, these "pump and dump" schemes were common back in the 1990s and weren't even the worst things "Wall Street" has done. See The Big Short, The Wolf of Wall Street. Scorsese's TWoWS actually diminishes the value of Boiler Room, even though it isn't fair to compare the two. The highlights include Ben Affleck's opening speech to the trainees — clearly influenced by Glengarry Glen Ross — the hip-hop soundtrack, Ron Rifkin as Seth's father, and the POV shift to the swindled client (Taylor Nichols), which adds a face to JT Marlin's numerous victims. Unfortunately, the film falls victim to the same plot-lines so many films still follow today: a love triangle, a father-son story. When done well, these can create some of the greatest stories we have as a culture, but far too often they feel like a way to increase run-time. The crux of the plot is so interesting — twentysomethings "cold-calling" potential investors and scamming them out of their hard-earned money — we didn't need the love-triangle between Seth, Abbie (Nia Long), and Greg (Nicky Katt). I mean, she's one of the only women in the entire company and of course she's a secretary and of course she had a thing with Greg and of course Seth falls for her. It was shallow and forced. Seth's relationship with his father better, as it explains his motivation for joining JT Marlin, but it too hurt the film simply by taking us away from what really made it interesting. Also, the way his father (a federal judge..) got roped into the scheme was stupid. The movie has one of the douchiest scenes of all-time (I mean this as a compliment to characterize "the gang") wherein Seth, Greg, Jim (Affleck), Chris (Vin Diesel), Richie (Scott Caan), and Adam (Jamie Kennedy) are sitting in Greg's very bachelor mansion, line-by-line quoting Wall Street while eating pizza and drinking beer. The movie doesn't have the most satisfying ending, as we don't see what actually happens to the firm, but whatever it is, we know there will always be finance dirtbags ruining the "American Dream" family by family — it's one of the few guarantees in life.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It had been a long time since I last watched this and definitely enjoyed this more when I was younger. While still somewhat entertaining and suspenseful this definitely comes off as cliche and dated at times as well too. 5.5/10

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

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Ben Younger

Director

Giovanni Ribisi

Seth

Vin Diesel

Chris

Nia Long

Abby

Nicky Katt

Greg

Scott Caan

Richie

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Good but mature movie. Not for kids.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 22, 2010

Full Review

Time Out

Turns of dialogue ring compellingly true, and the well chosen cast (especially Ribisi) carry the inflections of the drama with some style.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

To put the movie in sales terms, after a good opening pitch, Younger fails to close the deal. The audience can't buy in.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 19, 2002

Full Review

Chuck Klosterman

Akron Beacon Journal

The main reason Boiler Room succeeds, despite its unoriginal premise: It's brilliantly contemporary.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 27, 2023

Full Review

Andy Greenwald

Spin

Boiler Room is consistently on target and fantastically of-the-moment.

Dec 28, 2022

Full Review

Justin Brown

Medium Popcorn

There were random racial slurs, the father storyline didn't pay off and the performances were really uneven.

Rated: 2/5

Jul 1, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

Welcome to the infamous "boiler room" -- where twenty something millionaires are made overnight. Here, in the inner sanctum of a fly-by-night brokerage firm, hyper-aggressive young stock jocks peddle to unsuspecting buyers over the phone -- and are rewarded with mansions, Ferraris and more luxury toys than they know what to do with. In this unassuming Long Island enclave, Gen Xers chase the green at breakneck speeds, sometimes one step ahead of the law.

Director: Ben Younger
Executive Producer: Richard Brener, Claire Rudnick Polstein
Screenwriter: Ben Younger
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Production Co: New Line Cinema, Team Todd
Rating: R (Strong Language|Drug Content)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 18, 2000, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 11, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA): $16.9M
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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