“The Make-up Oscar.” Not to be confused with the extraordinary craftspeople in the makeup and hairstyling category, the Make-up Oscar happens when the Academy rights a wrong after an egregious snub:
Paul Newman wins Best Actor for “The Color of Money” instead of “Cool Hand Luke.” Whoopi Goldberg wins for “Ghost” — I love her performance as Oda Mae Brown — instead of “The Color Purple.” The greatest example is Al Pacino securing gold for “Scent of a Woman” instead of “The Godfather Part II,” one of cinema’s defining performances.
However, the Academy loves nothing more than a physical transformation, one where actors wash away their movie star looks and get down and dirty. In “The Revenant,” informally known as the one where he fought a bear, DiCaprio ate raw bison liver, slept in a dead carcass, and battled freezing temperatures to play a man who exacts revenge on the man who killed his son.
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Two years before “The Revenant,” the movie that should have etched DiCaprio’s name on a little gold man was “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Martin Scorsese’s black comedy is based on the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort, an aspirational stockbroker who creates a Wall Street empire built on drugs, sex, and greed. But the titular wolf couldn’t outsmart the feds, which led to the disintegration and eradication of his corporation.
Leo is funny!
DiCaprio has been the leading man in Hollywood for a long time. The Ringer awarded him the “first call” championship belt. Every big Hollywood movie for the last 25 years — the ones with prestige, big budgets and notoriety — starts with one question: Can we get Leo? If he says yes, the movie gets made. If not, you move to the next name on the list.
DiCaprio predominantly sticks to dramas and thrillers, carrying himself like a serious thespian. You know the work by now, including “The Departed,” “The Aviator,” “Revolutionary Road,” “Gangs of New York,” and “Shutter Island.” Occasionally, he’ll use his magnetic charm and dashing looks in starry roles like “Catch Me If You Can” and “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.”
In “The Wolf of Wall Street,” DiCaprio proved that when it’s time to be funny, he can deliver. Honestly, it’s an insult to call Leo funny because he’s hilarious in “Wolf,” to the point where I’m selfishly upset that he withheld his comedic muscles from the world for so long. This is an actor who started his career in sitcoms “Parenthood” and “Growing Pains.” I should have known Leo had the timing, delivery and talent to land jokes.
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Within the first five minutes of the movie, Leo perfectly executes a comedic tour de force. He encourages degeneracy in the office, nearly crashes a helicopter while high as a kite, and drugs himself like a madman. Leo narrates the entire saga; you can hear the arrogance in his voice and see the cocky smirk on his face.
Over the next three hours, Leo pitches the acting equivalent of a perfect game, adding new wrinkles to his performance every 15 minutes. From an honorable broker and drug-fueled adulterer to a villainous criminal and overindulgent womanizer, Jordan has more personas than Tom Ripley. It’s all a credit to Leo, who never takes his foot off the gas pedal.
The highlight of Leo’s comedy is the Quaalude scene, where Jordan takes enough drugs to kill a horse. Only an actor as committed as DiCaprio could pull off this scene. Leo takes no half measures when playing a sedated fool who can’t feel his body. The physical comedy by DiCaprio — dropping to the floor and crawling to his sports car — would make Buster Keaton and Jim Carrey proud.
Leo allows the supporting cast shine
A great leading man is only as good as his surrounding talent. Behind the camera, that starts with Scorsese, who is more of a coach to Leo than a teammate. Ridley Scott was offered to direct “The Wolf of Wall Street” before Scorsese returned to direct. With all due respect, this movie doesn’t work with Scott behind the camera. It needs the frantic energy of a Scorsese picture with flawed characters, moral dilemmas, and impeccable music.
In front of the camera, DiCaprio finds the perfect comedic sidekick in Jonah Hill. There is an arrogance within Hill’s comedy that perfectly matches Leo’s exuberance. Look at Hill in “Superbad,” who plays the overconfident teenager with a codependency problem. The same mindset applies to Donnie. Donnie wants the wealth and recognition, when in actuality, all he seeks is Jordan’s approval. They’re Batman and Robin on drugs.
Hill is not the only one who gets to have fun with DiCaprio. Margot Robbie, in a jaw-dropping breakout role, plays Jordan’s second wife, Naomi Lapaglia, aka “The Duchess of Bay Ridge.” Don’t let her beauty fool you. Robbie is not afraid to slap DiCaprio around and deliver my favorite insult of the movie. (“What are you, an owl?”)
Other notable characters include Jon Bernthal’s Brad, who knows how to sell a pen via supply and demand; Kyle Chandler’s Agent Denham, who learned a thing or two about fun coupons; and Matthew McConaughey’s Mark Hanna, whose chant can be seen on every Jumbotron at sporting events. The late Rob Reiner also makes a hilarious appearance as Jordan’s dad. Just don’t call him on a Tuesday night.
Is this Leo’s greatest performance?
Find a better resume in Hollywood than DiCaprio’s. Besides “J. Edgar,” it’s tough to spot a misfire since 2002. His eighth-best performance could be No. 1 on someone else’s filmography. DiCaprio also deserves a lot of credit for his taste and for aligning with prestigious directors like Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson.
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For me, Jordan Belfort in “The Wolf of Wall Street” is DiCaprio’s best performance. Rick Dalton in “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” definitely has a strong argument, and Bob Ferguson in “One Battle After Another” will quickly find its way into the top five.
That being said, there’s something about DiCaprio’s Jordan being the slimiest and most charismatic person in the room that is so entertaining to watch. If you’ll excuse me, I need to hum and pound my chest during this lunch meeting.
Stream The Wolf of Wall Street” on Paramount+
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