The Boost (1988)

I saw this film in the theater when it first came out, I'm sorry to say, and it was one of only a few films I have ever wanted to walk out of early. I didn't have a problem with the drug content and I could see how this cautionary tale could have been powerful. The problem was, the film-maker, working with James Woods and Sean Young, drew two of the least lovable characters I have ever seen on film. I hated this pair and couldn't have cared less if they sunk straight to the inevitable bottom. Their was not one surprise in this film. Every turn of events was so painfully obvious that I felt I could have written the script myself; although I like to think I would have done a better job. I subsequently heard nightmarish stories about the incidents on the set between Sean Young and James Woods along the lines of some sort of stalking events. It made me wonder if the terrible acting arose out of some bad feelings and dysfunction. Anyway, I refer to The Boost as the worst film I've ever paid money to see.

Directed by Vision Quest director, Harold Becker, The Boost is a fairly disturbing, though sometimes corny, illustration of the rise and fall of the late 80s yuppie--who's downfall usually came (at least in movies like these) from a coke habit. (See Bright Lights, Big City, Clean & Sober, and Less Than Zero...although the latter is more disturbing in it's original form as Easton's novel).This is the story about the tragic downfall of Lenny Brown (James Woods), a regular guy with a knack as a salesman who seems to falter in, I suppose, trying to impress his wife, Linda (Sean Young) that he is not going to be a struggling salesman his whole life. Opportunity presents himself when a wealthy real-estate speculator (in a business that is mostly a scam--selling property to the filthy rich for the purpose of a tax write-off) and Lenny Brown proves to his trusting boss, Max (Stephen Hill), that he is good at what he does. With his new job, comes a new life for Lenny and Linda, one with the luxuries of fast money and fast living. And with it, a rude awakening.Linda grows bored and skeptical of the new life, particularly when money is all Lenny talks about. Just like every party, it soon comes to an end, and when there is a chance that the tax shelter will be closed, Lenny's job is at risk. He's blown too much money already to just sit on his hands and wait for things to pick up. But, he's strapped for cash, gets fired from his job after his boss discovers he's been stealing, and there'll be no easy solution to his dilemma since he's adopted a new coke habit. He and Linda, both.It's hard for reality to kick in. For Linda, it takes a while, but for Lenny, one failure after another, taking him farther and farther away from the high-life he intended to someday return to, he never seems to recover. After a while, he just becomes pathetic, and incapable of really fixing himself up, although it seemed like for a while, he could. These are the powerful moments in the film, that there seems like nothing that could ever pull Lenny out of his slump, no matter how hard he tries. It's one bad circumstance after another and Lenny just keeps giving in, just a little more, just for that one "boost", to help him out, all the while ignoring that it is exactly what keeps him sinking deeper and deeper into a hole he's gotten himself so far into, he's never going to recover. The final scene makes this very clear as he joins the ranks of an insolvent coke dealer, mumbling about his wife, who had long ago left him.There are some cornier moments written into the film, particularly towards the beginning when we must see Linda and Lenny in their more romantic, newlywed sentiment. Some of Lenny's dialog in particular, seems a bit ridiculous, too, especially in his moments of grandeur. It does take until about half-way in the film to make the point, of the misery of addiction, very clear and very disturbing.The Boost is the yuppie meeting the inevitable fate of his dystopia.

amazingly good film that touches the effects of drugs it has on people's relationship. the beautiful marriage that these two wonderful people had, and what they ended with? wonderful movie, worth watching over and over again for little ideas and perfect dialogue that only two wonderful actors as young and wood could deliver. i watch this film every day in February, so that i do not get SAD . the movements of the actors towards the drug, the feelings they achieve afterwards, marvellous performance, touching and full of love, sadness, tragedy, hurt feelings, losses.the way they are transformed into ideas full of love, losses and tragedies, amazing. watch it over and over again, exhilarating.

This film is right up there with The Oscar and Moment by Moment as one of unintentionally funny films of all time.It is worth the rental for a some wildly great laugh's.The story is absolutely ludicrous.nothing in life would happen like this.it's so completely unbelievable. the way James Woods tries and hustle heavy hitters, than they give this supposed two-bit hustler a job 3000 miles away in LA what a jokeI love the old beat VW bug to signify how low they've gotten in life because of all the `tootski's'.Sean Young is as unbelievably bad as the, "I'll love you forever, no matter what, wife" you'll ever see.if it wasn't so funny you would throw up at how sugary sweet Young tries to project herself.and as bad acting as you'll ever see.James Wood overacts throughout the whole movie and he's so extremely funny and is way, way over the top, it's just not to be believed, Woods seems like a parody of a cocaine fiend off Saturday Night Live.but watching Woods on `ludes' is worth the price of the rental.I love it when Woods tells the guy who wants to give him some more `ludes' that he doesn't do that stuff anymore, right before that, Woods just did three giant lines of coke.This is some very funny stuff.The ending is so comical but right on par with the rest of the movie.