‘Billionaire Boys Club’ Film Review: Kevin Spacey Stuck in Convoluted True-Crime Remake
The embattled Oscar winner delivers the least insufferable performance in a film where acting quality erodes just as quickly as the characters’ moral compass
Across his sporadic and meager filmography, director James Cox has showcased an affinity for the quintessential bad boy in stories laced with toxic testosterone, heavy drug use and gruesome violence. Cox seems to revel in tales about young white men whose reckless ambition pushes them to commit unthinkable crimes and betray their buddies. Even if the results are catastrophic, he somehow portrays their acts not as malicious and reprehensible, but as commendable endeavors gone wrong.
This questionable bro-bravado in ingrained in 2002’s “Highway” (starring baby-faced Jared Leto and Jake Gyllenhaal), his 2003 John Holmes crime drama “Wonderland,” with Val Kilmer as the lead, and the more recent “Straight A’s,” with Ryan Phillippe and Anna Paquin. For his latest, “Billionaire Boys Club,” Cox enlists rising stars like Ansel Elgort, Emma Roberts and Taron Egerton as well as a veteran (Kevin Spacey) who up until recently could have served as a prestigious hook for the enterprise.
On paper, this new film iteration of the famous real-life case — previously put on screen as a two-part TV movie back in 1987 — surely appeared to have been a low-risk investment with high chances for profit. But those hopes have vanished with this hapless finished film — and not entirely due to Spacey’s recent #MeToo troubles. (The film debuted on iTunes and other streaming platforms this week in advance of a limited theatrical release planned for next month.)
Set in the early ’80s, “Billionaire Boys Club” is narrated by Egerton’s Dean Karny, one of the key figures in an operation that would eventually turn greedy kids from modest backgrounds into cold-blooded killers. A graduate of L.A.’s exclusive all-male Harvard School, Karny is making moves toward his goal of being rich by selling imported cars to affluent guys his age — children of Beverly Hills royalty. During one of those deals he serendipitously runs into old classmate Joe Hunt (Elgort), a nerd with a knack for commodity trading. (Judd Nelson, who played Joe Hunt in the 1987 TV film, cameos as Joe’s father.)
Fancying themselves the Young Turks of their generation, Karny and Hunt begin luring gullible and moneyed white dudes to invest in gold. The pair promises a 50 percent return, even when the reality is less than favorable for their stocks. “Being rich is about respect,” says Karny, and their reputation grows quickly based not on tangible accomplishments but on the elaborate fantasy of success that they construct.
Hotshot entrepreneur Ron Levin (Spacey) shows interest in the operation — and soon becomes their mentor and fairy godfather. Overnight, Joe and Dean’s company, BBC (at first named to mock the Bombay Bicycle Club), turns them into monarchs of their own destiny. Worshiping at the altar of self-interest, their reign is short-lived. Tricked by a seasoned con artist, Joe gets caught up in his unstable web of lies, while Dean snorts his life away to cope with the impending implosion. Though the true-crime plot may sound appealing, it all plays out as a convoluted cluster of platitudes grotesquely overflowing with cheap Los Angeles tropes.
Every character speaks in grand statements full of pseudo-insightful ideas about the self-made man and the nature of success. Imagine a coaching class one of the characters in “Entourage” might attend. There is much discussion of the “Paradox Philosophy,” which Joe brings up to justify his unorthodox approach to business.
The dialogue, by Cox and Captain Mauzner (“Factory Girl”), is almost entirely comprised of silly proverbs such as “The truth is the best lie” or “The perception of reality is more real than reality itself,” most delivered by Spacey.
The Oscar winner delivers the least insufferable performance in a film where acting quality erodes just as quickly as the characters’ moral compass. As in his previous films, Cox has managed to recruit great actors only to elicit bafflingly melodramatic and stilted work. Emma Roberts, as an aspiring artist and the only female character with more than a couple speaking lines, is particularly wasted.
Worse is Cary Elwes’ laughable and distasteful portrayal of Andy Warhol, whose presence can only be explained by the director’s need to expand his vision of early ’80s elitism.
Cox’s film plays like a pureed mash-up of “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “The Social Network” and last month’s indie heist film “American Animals” — without the richness or texture of any of those films. Despite some ineffectively colored flashbacks, the film is at least handsomely shot.
11 TV Cast Upheavals, From Kevin Spacey in 'House of Cards' to Clayne Crawford in 'Lethal Weapon' (Photos)
"Lethal Weapon"
Actor Seann William Scott took over the role of Martin Riggs for the show's third season, which got the green light from Fox on May 13. A representative from Warner Bros. Television said the studio "decided not to renew Clayne Crawford’s contract for ‘Lethal Weapon'" after reports of bad behavior on set, described as "complaints of emotional abuse and creating a hostile environment."
Crawford apologized last month and wished the "Lethal Weapon" team luck on their third season without him. “To my cast and crew – CONGRATULATIONS on season 3!” Crawford wrote. “To the Fans – Thank you for the overwhelming support and love. Riggs was a dream role and the experience will live with me forever. My heart is full. Good Luck nxt season!!” he said on Instagram over the weekend.
"I take great pride in treating everyone in life with dignity and kindness," the 40-year-old actor said in April. "I am very grateful for my job, and I work extremely hard at it. I have a responsibility to do good work for my coworkers, my family, and my home state, and most especially for the fans. I hope they will stick with me and stick with the show."
Fox bosses said the decision to move ahead with a new season without Crawford was not their decision, but that of Warner Bros.
"Ultimately, our partners at Warner Bros. come to us about three weeks ago to tell us that they could not deliver ‘Lethal Weapon’ as we’ve known it before, that there were some real challenges in the cast. They thought long and hard about it. I know that was not their first choice,” said Dana Walden, Chairmen and CEO, Fox Television Group.
Ray Mickshaw/FOX
"House of Cards"
After star Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct, production was delayed and the actor's character was eventually written out of the show. Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos announced in December that a sixth and final season of the critically acclaimed drama "will not involve Kevin Spacey," but will feature lead actress Robin Wright.
"From day one, I have denied the outrageous allegations against me. Law enforcement investigated these claims more than 15 years ago and determined them to be without merit," he said in a statement to TheWrap at the time. "I have never been charged with a crime, let alone convicted of one. In this country, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty."
Netflix
"The Four"
Music executive Charlie Walk exited this singing competition, on which he was a judge, after he was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee. Walk did not attend the Fox show's finale, and will not be returning.
"I do not want my presence to be a distraction. Needless to say this is very upsetting," Walk said in a statement in February. "Although I continue to support the ‘Me Too’ movement, there has been an extreme rush to judgment against me in this particular case which is unfair and inconsistent with anything that even actually happened. I welcome any investigation so that in short order these unfounded and hurtful accusations can be put to rest."
"Gossip Girl" alum Ed Westwick was replaced by Christian Cooke after the actor was accused by three women of sexual assault (Westwick has denied the accusations). The premiere of the drama was canceled in November after accusations surfaced, and the show was pulled from the BBC. Filming for another BBC drama featuring Westwick, “White Gold,” was also stalled at the time.
Reshoots with Cooke went "smoothly," according to The Guardian, and the drama finally premiered on BBC One on Easter Sunday.
Jeff Spicer/Getty Images
"The Walking Dead"
Chandler Riggs, who played fan-favorite character Carl Grimes, left the show this season in a drawn-out and heartbreaking death-by-zombie bite. Fans were shocked when they learned his fate. "I didn’t know that this many people connected to him like on such an extreme level,” Riggs said of his character in an interview with TheWrap. Carl's death on the long-standing AMC drama caught fans off guard, mainly, because his character is still very much alive and a large part of the comics on which the show is based.
AMC
"Grey's Anatomy"
News of longtime cast members Sarah Drew and Jessica Capshaw leaving the medical drama came as a shock to fans in March. After some reports that star Ellen Pompeo's behemoth salary led to the actresses being cut, both Pompeo and showrunner Krista Vernoff said the idea was misleading.
“The decision to make changes to our cast was a creative one,” Vernoff said. “The only thing as constant on 'Grey’s Anatomy' as Ellen Pompeo is our penchant for reinvention. It is a part of our success and what keeps the show exciting. We love these actresses and we love these characters and it felt true and right creatively to wrap up their stories. And that is the whole story.”
"Harry Potter" alum Frank Dillane, who plays Nick Clark on the "Walking Dead" spinoff, said that Season 4 felt like the right time to move on from the show. (Spoiler!) Nick died in an April 29 episode after being shot by Charlie, the child spy of the Vultures group.
"I just felt like the beginning of this season kind of felt like the end of an era with this show. And television is hard work, and you have to shoot a lot," the British actor said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "I also missed Europe very much. I’m not American, so after a while I get quite homesick and all of those things. I also felt like we had achieved what needed to be achieved in the first few seasons, so I thought it was time to keep moving."
Combined with new cast members, like "Walking Dead" star Lennie James, Maggie Grace, Garret Dillahunt and Jenna Elfman, Nick's death marks the whittling away of the Clark family and crew on the spinoff show.
AMC
"NCIS"
Long-time "NCIS" star Pauley Perrette announced in October that she's leaving the show after 15 seasons. "So it is true that I am leaving NCIS... There have been all kinds of false rumors as to why," she tweeted last fall. She also threw cold water on reports on why she left, adding that, no, she does not have a skin care line, nor does she have beef with the network.
CBS
"Silicon Valley"
Comedian T.J. Miller left the HBO sitcom at the end of last season, and his only legacy in Season 5 are the pig ashes Jian Yang uses to convince the court he's dead. Showrunner Alec Berg told TheWrap last June that Miller's exit "was for the best" and that he thought it was time for the actor to move on. Miller told TheWrap that the cliffhanger ending to Season 4 felt like the perfect time to leave. But Miller's exit has been followed with accusations of sexual harassment against him (that he's denied), and his co-stars said he was often late, would fall asleep on set or even show up drunk.
HBO
Jeffrey Tambor was barred from returning to Amazon’s series “Transparent” for Season 5, the streamer said in mid-February.
The decision came after the conclusion of an investigation into accusations that the Emmy-winning actor sexually harassed three women, including Tambor's ex-assistant and transgender actress Van Barnes, “Transparent” actress Trace Lysette, and makeup artist Tamara Delbridge. Tambor denied the accusations.
Amazon
1 of 11
These shows have had major cast shakeups in recent months
"Lethal Weapon"
Actor Seann William Scott took over the role of Martin Riggs for the show's third season, which got the green light from Fox on May 13. A representative from Warner Bros. Television said the studio "decided not to renew Clayne Crawford’s contract for ‘Lethal Weapon'" after reports of bad behavior on set, described as "complaints of emotional abuse and creating a hostile environment."
Crawford apologized last month and wished the "Lethal Weapon" team luck on their third season without him. “To my cast and crew – CONGRATULATIONS on season 3!” Crawford wrote. “To the Fans – Thank you for the overwhelming support and love. Riggs was a dream role and the experience will live with me forever. My heart is full. Good Luck nxt season!!” he said on Instagram over the weekend.
"I take great pride in treating everyone in life with dignity and kindness," the 40-year-old actor said in April. "I am very grateful for my job, and I work extremely hard at it. I have a responsibility to do good work for my coworkers, my family, and my home state, and most especially for the fans. I hope they will stick with me and stick with the show."
Fox bosses said the decision to move ahead with a new season without Crawford was not their decision, but that of Warner Bros.
"Ultimately, our partners at Warner Bros. come to us about three weeks ago to tell us that they could not deliver ‘Lethal Weapon’ as we’ve known it before, that there were some real challenges in the cast. They thought long and hard about it. I know that was not their first choice,” said Dana Walden, Chairmen and CEO, Fox Television Group.
Ray Mickshaw/FOX
Netflix
