BILLIONAIRE BOYS CLUB: Boring, Bland & Cliché

Get-rich-quick schemes are far from a new idea in Hollywood. Where the fantasy and desire lives in the real world, so too does it on screen. While many films ignite with schemes, edge of your seat tension and at times hilarity, sadly Billionaire Boys Club from director James Cox did not. The movie is enjoyable, but the pace of the film drags, giving you time to notice the missing pizzazz – or something to show the relevance for making this film.

My expectations for Billionaire Boys Club were not set primarily high, as the film had a delayed release and was sent straight to Video On Demand, yet I had hoped that all the lack of marketing, delay, and form of release had been a result of the sexual misconduct of one of its leading actors Kevin Spacey. Sadly, the film itself speaks to the reason.

BBC: Boring, Bland and Cliché

While Billionaire Boys Club is based on true events, it was lacking the dynamic and intrigue to keep viewers hooked. The edge-of-your-seat college boy corporate saga, which had previously succeeded in such films like The Social Network, failed to impress here. Honestly speaking, the story makes an attempt to be a 20s something Goodfellas, with Dean as a Beverly Hills Henry Hill. Unfortunately, the Billionaire Boys Club takes a common Hollywood film concept and fails to deliver anything more original than its predecessors.

Having found mediocre success after school, Joe Hunt (Ansel Elgort) and Dean Karny (Taron Egerton) partner up in order to entice investors in an attempt to invest in gold. But when the gold market tanks and they almost lose it all, a small change to the books makes them look like a sure bet. Ranking in the investments, they find a further friend and partner in entrepreneur Ron Levin (Kevin Spacey). Though as the money rolls in and the high life seems just on the horizon, everything begins to fall apart, faster than the two can handle.

Ansel Elgort and Taron Egerton – both of whom were considered for Han Solo – play off each other well, but they lack energy, drive and electricity. As the money pours in and success seems an inevitability, they seem to only bring each other halfway to the emotions one would expect to see depicted on screen. Emma Roberts‘ character Sydney adds no depth to the film. She is only a tool utilized to show everything that Joe Hunt gains in his strive for wealth, and everything he loses. She is also the only female character with some spotlight and recognition, other females within the film utilized to fill backgrounds, compose scenes and deliver transitional dialogue. While it is a film primarily on the exploits on young male adults in the 1980’s, the lack of female representation within it was still sorely lacking.

Not All Is Lost

Not everything in the film was lacking, however. Billionaire Boys Club was laced with beautiful shots and composition, primarily speaking to its opening scene. The sharp lighting and contrast of the room as the scene builds up to a recreation of the famous Maxwell “Blown Away Man” – an iconic image of a man in a chair blown by the sound and power of his stereo. Far and beyond my favorite scene of the entire film, sadly a really great starting point for a film that plunged much like its subjects. Thankfully, this was not the film’s only gorgeously shot scene.

Later on in Billionaire Boys Club, when success has begun to corrupt the mind of Joe Hunt, Sydney dances about artistically elevating the high life apartment Joe has just rented. In preparation for the up-and-coming holiday event, Sydney decorates the trees outside of the Beverly Hills home. As she sprays painted snow on the limbs, specks of paint fly through the air reflecting in the Californian sun. It is an elegant capture and beautifully shot, with Sydney’s silhouette dancing in the moment. It is truly a breathtaking and artistic display of excellence.

Cinematography and scenes aside, the appearance of Andy Warhol in the film was by far the best moment of Billionaire Boys Club. While it was an intriguing addition to give credibility to the character of Ron Levin, as well as the decade the film takes place in, it was a shock to realize Andy Warhol was being played by Carey Elwes. What an unbelievably amazing appearance and portrayal – when are we going to get an Andy Warhol film with Elwes as the lead? I had no idea Elwes was in the film, he is unrecognizable – unless you are clearly looking for him. I honestly was in disbelief when the credits rolled, rewinding the film as quickly as possible to watch the scene again.

The Fallen

It was hard watching Kevin Spacey on screen given the revelations into his sexual misconduct last fall. In the film, he plays Ron Levin, a seemingly brilliant entrepreneur and investor, who truly finds his success throughout a variety of hustles. This is not a spoiler as it is hinted and revealed fairly early on in the film. His character is slimy and conniving, but combined with recent events, too similar to enjoy. It is also not original, his character similar to the one he played in last year’s Baby Driver and in other previous roles of his career. It seems to speak to the fact that he has just been playing himself in many of these roles over the years.

Even with the allegations aside, there was such a lackluster to his performance, a settling in to a cozy role he can just spit out. It might have been a possibility, had All the Money in the World been released with Spacey still cast, that I would feel different, the break between his similar characters in both this film and Baby Driver not following one right after the other. Having the “awe” affect that was Kevin Spacey lifted, I look back and this star role has been his modus operandi for a very long time.

Conclusion: Billionaire Boys Club

With everything said, Billionaire Boys Club did have potential, yet its execution was faulty. With many of the elements lining up for a quick success, it seemingly failed to deliver. Even this star studded cast couldn’t fool audiences into investing their money for this one.

Have you see Billionaire Boys Club? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Billionaire Boys Club was released on VOD in the US on July 17, 2018. For all international release dates, see here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkdZzOM2VGA