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The Boost

Play trailer Poster for The Boost R 1989 1h 35m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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40% Tomatometer 10 Reviews 50% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Struggling salesman Lenny Brown (James Woods) gets his big break when real estate speculator Max Sherman (Steven Hill) offers him a prime sales position at his Los Angeles firm. The economic boom of the mid-1980s soon has Lenny and his wife, Linda (Sean Young), living in the fast lane, but when a sudden tax-law change causes the real estate bubble to burst, Lenny finds himself unemployed and in debt. At this low point, the couple's once-casual cocaine habit begins to spiral out of control.
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The Boost

Critics Reviews

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Nigel Andrews Financial Times 06/23/2020
Whenever he Is on screen Woods turns a B-movie melodrama about human waste Into a humming psycho-drama. Go to Full Review
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 01/01/2000
3.5/4
As Lenny and Linda head for the bottom, the movie turns into one of the most convincing and horrifying portraits of drug addiction I've ever seen. Go to Full Review
Richard Freedman Newark Star-Ledger 1d
0/4
How such creditable actors as Woods and Young got trapped in this idiotic farrago is a mystery. Go to Full Review
Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com 10/08/2020
2.5/5
The Boost is supposed to play like a horror story for folks who think they can mainline their way to economic bliss, but can't quite convey the tragedy of good people unable to make responsible choices despite knowing better all the while. Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 04/26/2019
C+
The simplistic message film tries to be cool by having its hipster leads telling us drugs are not good for you. Go to Full Review
Christopher Null Filmcritic.com 08/01/2007
4/5
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Audience Reviews

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Jack O 06/19/2023 Right now I've been watching a film that stars James Woods and Sean Young called The Boost. Never heard of it? Well, it's about the two couple Lenny and Linda played by James Woods and Sean Young. Lenny Brown is a man who is in love with Linda Brown. They move to California and when Lenny gets rich and then he lost a job cause he was poor. Now he's obsessed with cocaine to keep himself on the edge. The violence and Lenny possessed in drugs doesn't last long until after an hour. This is fast paced for the most part. This is the fast paced drama film with an fast paced ending. See more 10/07/2021 There’s a potentially good movie hiding somewhere within this material, however it’s simple depiction of a cautionary tale lets it down. Ultimately it comes off as a laughable, almost Reefer Madness like at times, anti-drug film. See more hardy c 05/04/2021 Supposedly this movie is like a Nancy Reagan "Just Say No" cautionary tale about the evils of drugs. But it's actually about two losers who flirt with success but pull back from the precipice of happiness in order to find a reasonable substitute for that emotion with Bolivian snow. I rate the subsequent scandal over Young allegedly stalking Woods higher. In fact, why didn't anyone make a movie about that? See more ashley h @ashleyhobgood87 04/30/2018 The Boost is a disappointing film. It is about Lenny Brown who moves to California to find his fortune in tax shelter investments. James Woods and Sean Young give terrible performances. The screenplay is badly written. Harold Becker did a horrible job directing this movie. I was not impressed with this motion picture. See more 09/09/2017 Struggling salesman becomes huge success in real estate when he moves to California before being downed by a drug habit that spirals out of control. See more 12/22/2014 Based on a novel by Ben Stein, yes, THAT Ben Stein of Ferris Bueller fame. The book was apparently about Quaaludes addiction and abuse, but it's cocaine in the film. I have no idea how the book read, but the film is utterly ridiculous. It's supposed to be a hard hitting downward spiral into drugs by an otherwise on-the-rise yuppie couple, played by James Woods and Sean Young when they were still a real-life couple, but the film is pretty dumb and unintentionally hilarious at times. James Woods is a great actor, but Sean Young is just terrible. Like Arnold, the best acting she ever did was when she played a robot. Stick with "Requiem for a Dream" if you want a hard hitting film about addiction, but if you're in the mood for some serious camp, this may be a good choice. See more Read all reviews
The Boost

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The Boost

The Boost: Official Clip - Killing the Old Fireball The Boost: Official Clip - Killing the Old Fireball 1:47 The Boost: Official Clip - Junkie The Boost: Official Clip - Junkie 4:03 The Boost: Official Clip - Till I Fall Off the Earth The Boost: Official Clip - Till I Fall Off the Earth 1:58 The Boost: Official Clip - The First Taste The Boost: Official Clip - The First Taste 1:34 The Boost: Official Clip - Hollywood Party The Boost: Official Clip - Hollywood Party 2:12 The Boost: Official Clip - Bad Reaction The Boost: Official Clip - Bad Reaction 2:13 The Boost: Official Clip - Relapse The Boost: Official Clip - Relapse 1:59 The Boost: Official Clip - Leap Through Life The Boost: Official Clip - Leap Through Life 2:03 The Boost: Official Clip - Lenny Ruins the Deal The Boost: Official Clip - Lenny Ruins the Deal 2:02 The Boost: Official Clip - Will It Sell? Will It Soar? The Boost: Official Clip - Will It Sell? Will It Soar? 2:02 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis Struggling salesman Lenny Brown (James Woods) gets his big break when real estate speculator Max Sherman (Steven Hill) offers him a prime sales position at his Los Angeles firm. The economic boom of the mid-1980s soon has Lenny and his wife, Linda (Sean Young), living in the fast lane, but when a sudden tax-law change causes the real estate bubble to burst, Lenny finds himself unemployed and in debt. At this low point, the couple's once-casual cocaine habit begins to spiral out of control.
Director
Harold Becker
Producer
Daniel H. Blatt
Screenwriter
Darryl Ponicsan
Distributor
Hemdale Film Distribution
Production Co
Hemdale
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 23, 1989, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 16, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA)
$766.8K
Runtime
1h 35m
Sound Mix
Surround
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