7.0/10
44,393
247 user 132 critic

Boiler Room (2000)

A college dropout, attempting to win back his father's high standards he gets a job as a broker for a suburban investment firm, which puts him on the fast track to success, but the job might not be as legitimate as it once appeared to be.

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3,397 ( 509)

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1 win & 9 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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John Griesemer ...
Concierge
David Younger ...
Marc
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Kid (as Russell Harper)
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Kid
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Storyline

Seth Davis is a college dropout running an illegal casino from his rented apartment. Driven by his domineering fathers disapproval at his illegitimate existence and his desire for serious wealth, Seth suddenly finds himself seduced by the opportunity to interview as a trainee stock broker from recent acquaintance Greg (Nicky Katt). Walking into the offices of JT Marlin, a small time brokerage firm on the outskirts of New York - Seth gets an aggressive cameo performance from Jay (Ben Affleck) that sets the tone for a firm clearly placing money above all else. Seth's fractured relationship with his father and flirtatious glances from love interest Abbie (Nia Long) are enough to keep Seth motivated in his new found career. As he begins to excel and develop a love for the hard sale and high commission, a few chance encounters leads Seth to question the legitimacy of the firm's operations - placing him once again at odds with his father and what remains of his morality. With homages to ... Written by mikal

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Anyone who says that money is the root to all evil, doesn't have it. See more »

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and some drug content | See all certifications »

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Details

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Release Date:

18 February 2000 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Les initiés  »

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Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,722,884, 20 February 2000, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$16,938,179, 4 July 2000
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Company Credits

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Technical Specs

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Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Ben Affleck starred alongside Giovanni Ribisi's twin sister Marissa in Dazed and Confused (1993). Giovanni appeared in SubUrbia (1996), which was done by the same director (Richard Linklater). See more »

Goofs

When Seth closes an account before receiving his Series 7, Greg becomes angry and tells Seth that he'd violated several SEC laws. However he closes Harry Reynard a short time later, and still hasn't passed the test. See more »

Quotes

Seth Davis: [while sitting in the lounge area of a bar] so who do you live with?
Abbie Halpert: do you mean is this little black girl taking care of her grandmother because her mother is a crack head?
Seth Davis: [jokingly] yeah exactly, I thought it was "smack" though.
Abbie Halpert: your right.
Seth Davis: [referring to her attitude] You've got to get ahold of that edge, it's kind of sharp.
Abbie Halpert: I know, it's just that I get so much shit at JT that sometimes I just get into that mode to get them off of me you know?
Seth Davis: yeah, I was going to ask you because it doesn't ...
[...]
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Crazy Credits

At the start of the film, the New Line Cinema studio logo features the faces from various U.S. Dollar bills, and the studio fanfare music uses a hip-hop "scratch" sound effect. See more »


Soundtracks

Impress the Kid
Written by Slick Rick and Shampalla Everett
Performed by Slick Rick
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Special Markets
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Frequently Asked Questions

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User Reviews

 
These Guys Can Act!
3 August 2006 | by See all my reviews

The large and well-selected cast turned in very powerful performances. They crafted a convincing range of emotions, from cunning cut-throat manipulators of their clients' personal wealth during office hours, to brief examples of their "boys will be boys" shenanigans after hours. The story line is built completely around their personal financial greed, the hapless victims they scammed to realize it (with the greatest focus on one of them), and a well-sustained sense of mystery that plants seeds of possibilities along the way. The ending was not at all predictable; it could have gone in any of several directions. The viewer gets the impression that if these predators could yank even the last remaining penny out of a client on his (they targeted males) deathbed, they'd gleefully do so and view it as a major coup giving them full bragging rights. There's a hint of information about how legitimate stockbrokers earn their credentials and that was enlightening. The romantic angles are minimalized and that serves to benefit the film. The language is consistently coarse, but certainly seemed realistic for the characters' ages, their business sector and their work ethic. For everyone who enjoyed "Glengarry Glen Ross," "Wall Street" (both of which are alluded to in the film), or even more appropriately "The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron," this feature will really score a bulls-eye.


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