The Boost
| The Boost | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Harold Becker |
| Written by | Ben Stein Darryl Ponicsan |
| Produced by | Daniel H. Blatt |
| Starring | James Woods Sean Young John Kapelos Steven Hill Kelle Kerr |
| Cinematography | Howard Atherton |
| Edited by | Maury Winetrobe |
| Music by | Stanley Myers |
| Distributed by | Hemdale Film Corporation |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8 million |
| Box office | $784,990 |
The Boost is a 1988 American drama film directed by Harold Becker and based on the book Ludes: A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream by Ben Stein.[1] It stars James Woods, Sean Young, John Kapelos, Steven Hill, June Chandler and Amanda Blake.[2]
Plot
Lenny Brown (James Woods) is a real-estate hustler looking to strike it rich. He is married to Linda (Sean Young), a paralegal and amateur dancer. The two are poor in money but rich in love. Linda vows to stick with her husband until she "falls off the earth."
After Lenny botches a job interview by being too over zealous, one of the interviewers, Max Sherman (Steven Hill), sees Lenny's talent as a salesman and offers to move he and his wife to California where he and Max will sell lucrative investments in tax shelters.
Everything is suddenly first-class for Lenny and his wife and they enjoy a very lavish lifestyle. However tax laws abruptly change and they find themselves $700,000 in debt.
They become increasingly desperate, worsened by a friend Joel Miller who turns them on to cocaine for "a boost." Lenny and Linda both become addicted. They lose their home, car and jobs. Linda becomes pregnant, but falls and suffers a miscarriage after using cocaine.
Lenny's life unravels rapidly as cocaine addiction gets the better of him. He gets clean temporarily and conceives one last great business opportunity. However due to anxiety his addiction reasserts itself and he irrationally blows the deal in a fit of anger. This culminates in Lenny severely beating Linda and putting her in the hospital. She is protected from Lenny while recovering and finally breaks with him permanently. She later falls for the doctor who is treating her.
As the end credits roll, we see Lenny still using cocaine in his filthy apartment. He has been relating his tale to a visiting New York friend, blaming others for his failures, and is reduced to a babbling shell of himself.
Cast
- James Woods as Lenny Brown
- Sean Young as Linda Brown
- John Kapelos as Joel Miller
- Steven Hill as Max Sherman
- Kelle Kerr as Rochelle
- John Rothman as Ned Lewis
- Amanda Blake as Barbara
- Barry Jenner as Billy
Reception
The Boost earned mixed reviews from critics. Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half of a possible four stars in a Dec. 28, 1988 Chicago Sun-Times review, calling the film "one of the most convincing and horrifying portraits of drug addiction I've ever seen."[1] Leonard Maltin was not so kind, however, giving the film only one-and-a-half of a possible four stars: "A misfire that's on the screen for 30 minutes before you even realize that it *is* anti-drug...As with Jack Nicholson in The Shining, it's hard to distinguish the 'before' Lenny from the 'after'."[3]
References
- ^ a b Ebert, Roger (December 23, 1988). "The Boost".
- ^ "The Boost". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved August 13, 2016.
- ^ Maltin, Leonard (August 2009). Leonard Maltin's 2010 Movie Guide. ISBN 9781101108765.
External links
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