Boiler Room

• TESTED

Six students lie dead at the hands of a fellow classmate. In the aftermath an unlikely bond is about to form. Alicia (Busy Philipps "Dawson's Creek") is a Goth misfit who hates the world and everyone in it and may know more about the shooting than she's telling. Deanna (Erika Christensen Swimfan) one of the injured is a classic overachiever confined to a hospital bed. Brought together by fate united by secrets they couldn't be less alike or need each other more.System Requirements:Running Time: 132 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 043396018952 Manufacturer No: 01895DVD'SThe intense soundtrack of Boiler Room is a fitting underscore for this movie, which pulses with the vigor of young, rich, amoral men wreaking havoc. This is not the antisocietal havoc of Fight Club, but the more deliberate mayhem that comes from greed run amok. The testosterone-junkie! brokers of J.T. Marlin (the only female in the office is Abby, the receptionist and love interest, played by Nia Long) are out to make the sale, and whether that sale is legal or ethical doesn't matter.

Seth Davis (Giovanni Ribisi) is a 19-year-old college dropout who strives for approval from his father (Ron Rifkin), a judge who is horrified that his son operates a 24-hour illicit casino. When an old friend visits the casino with a fellow broker, Davis is impressed by their wads of money and yellow Ferrari, and decides to join the firm. In no time he's making sales and settling into the groove of the office and all the after-hours perks, but the dream fades when Davis discovers the scam that is making all of the brokers wealthy beyond their dreams.

Borrowing heavily from Wall Street and Glengarry Glen Ross, Boiler Room is at its best when dealing with matters of money, and powerful scenes of Davis learning to be a "closer" showcase the signifi! cant talent of Ribisi, Nicky Katt, and Vin Diesel. The movie f! lounders when developing the relationship between Davis and his father, becoming sentimental and trite. However, as a fable of modern society and a nostalgic vehicle about the days of yuppies past, Boiler Room is right on the money. --Jenny Brown