The Boost

R

Released Dec 23, 1989

1h 35m

Drama

List

40%

10 Reviews

Tomatometer

49%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

Whenever he Is on screen Woods turns a B-movie melodrama about human waste Into a humming psycho-drama.

Jun 23, 2020

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

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.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

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.

Rated: 2.5/5

Oct 8, 2020

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

The simplistic message film tries to be cool by having its hipster leads telling us drugs are not good for you.

Rated: C+

Apr 26, 2019

Full Review

Richard Freedman

Newhouse News Service

How such creditable actors as Woods and Young got trapped in this idiotic farrago is a mystery.

Jan 5, 2018

Full Review

Christopher Null

Filmcritic.com

Rated: 4/5

Aug 1, 2007

Full Review

Read all reviews

Jack O

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.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/07/21

Full Review

hardy c

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?

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

ashley h

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.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

jack o

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.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

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Harold Becker

Director

James Woods

Lenny Brown

Sean Young

Linda Brown

John Kapelos

Joel Miller

Steven Hill

Max Sherman

Kelle Kerr

Rochelle

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The Boost: Official Clip - Killing the Old Fireball

1:47

The Boost: Official Clip - Junkie

4:03

The Boost: Official Clip - Till I Fall Off the Earth

1:58

The Boost: Official Clip - The First Taste

1:34

The Boost: Official Clip - Hollywood Party

2:12

The Boost: Official Clip - Bad Reaction

2:13

The Boost: Official Clip - Relapse

1:59

The Boost: Official Clip - Leap Through Life

2:03

The Boost: Official Clip - Lenny Ruins the Deal

2:02

The Boost: Official Clip - Will It Sell? Will It Soar?

2:02

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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: John Daly, Derek Gibson
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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