Early in Boiler Room, the film's narrator--a college-dropout-cum-stockbroker-trainee named Seth, played by Giovanni Ribisi--is being schooled in how to close a deal over the phone by his supervisor Greg, played by Nicky Katt. Before Greg launches into his "Always Be Closing" spiel (which Younger lifted from David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross), he says to Seth, "You've seen Glengarry Glen Ross, right?" Kickstand one. A few scenes later, Seth is hanging out with Greg and his other superiors at the brokerage firm of JT Marlin--including Ben Affleck as the firm's recruiter and Vin Diesel as top salesman Chris--and just when the "greed is good" vibe can't seem any more reminiscent of Oliver Stone's Wall Street, Younger has the characters actually watch Wall Street and recite Michael Douglas' lines right along with him. Kickstand two.

Presto--any complaint that Younger's film is just a mishmash of Mamet and Stone has been answered. And the answer is...sure it is. Luckily, Younger has a little to add to the licks he's copped. Boiler Room is about that Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? feeling currently fouling the air. When the film opens, Seth is running speakeasy blackjack tables out of his house. An old friend comes to the game with Greg, and the two of them encourage Seth to interview at JT Marlin; he agrees, as impressed by their hot cars as the idea of honest work.

And as it happens, the work at JT Marlin is not that honest anyway. Seth soon learns that the brokerage runs on the hot air of ballsy blowhards, who misrepresent themselves and the stocks they sell to unsuspecting rubes. In voice-over, Seth compares the trading of worthless stocks to the sale of crack cocaine, a metaphor that Younger pushes through the use of gangsta rap on the soundtrack and the street slang employed by the brokers.

Given our current national obsession with wealth, it would be tempting to say that Younger has his finger on the pulse of contemporary society, particularly the young and greedy. This would be a mistake. The references to hip-hop culture and gambling are clever and relevant, but otherwise Boiler Room lacks any real insight into the modern world. It's mostly about the chatter.

The real power generator for Boiler Room is the hungry cast, whose members rip into Younger's "Corinthian Mamet" dialogue with gripping intensity. Even Affleck seems to be having a gas firing up his broker posse. The enthusiasm is infectious. Still, the more Younger shows his baby brokers haranguing would-be customers over the phone, the more apparent it becomes that in the real world, even the most desperate investor would hang up on these abusive clowns.