Product Details

• Actors: James Woods, Sean Young, John Kapelos, Steven Hill, Kelle Kerr
• Directors: Harold Becker
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: September 16, 2003
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00009Y3QI
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,198 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
You'll find an example of James Woods's most daring and outrageous (some would say outlandish) acting in this 1988 film by director Harold Becker from a Darryl Ponicsan script. Woods plays a fast-rising, sharp-talking salesman, a yuppie on the make with the good life firmly in his sights. Until he discovers cocaine--and then his entire live-beyond-your-means ethos blends with a ravaging addiction that drives his lifestyle strictly down-market. Woods and costar Sean Young (with whom he subsequently had a rather public breakup) explore the wild-eyed outer limits with this particular monkey on their backs, in a movie whose acting-exercise quality usually takes a back seat to the obvious, melodramatic plotting. --Marshall Fine

Product Description
Life in the fast lane can be seductive, thrilling, intoxicating...but when night falls and the brakes fail, sooner or later you're gonna crash. OscarÂ(r) nominee* James Woods is "mesmeric" (Variety), and Sean Young delivers a "sensitive performance" (Los Angeles Times) in thisgripping story of a loving couple's descent into the nightmare of cocaine addiction. LennyBrown (Woods) is finally on a roll: Recruited to sell real estate to the rich in L.A., he's an overnight success. Suddenly, he and his wife (Young) have a beautiful home, fancy cars and a ready supply of cash. But when Lenny's fortunes suddenly change, he decides he needs a "boost" to regain his edge. What he gets instead is an all-consuming need that drags him and his wife into a cycle of shame,denial and anguish.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cautionary Tale of Drug Abuse, July 3, 1999

By	bookcat1962 "bookcat1962" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Boost [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Released during the "Just Say No" 1980s, this film is a cautionary tale of drug abuse. Lenny is a guy just trying to stake his claim in the world, to make a little money. He soon impresses a big wheel who moves Lenny and his wife to California where they are at first overwhelmed by the opulence but then become willing participants in it. Lenny continues to buy, buy, buy until it all crashes down. When the money stops rolling in, he is introduced to cocaine and the story then takes a dramatic turn as we watch Lenny lose it all. James Woods is fabulous as Lenny. I've seen this movie many times and now that I'm writing about it, I think it's time to pop this one into the VCR for another viewing.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HORRIFYING TRUTH, October 16, 2004

By	KYLE SANDERS "kyle" (TAMPA,FLORIDA,USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Boost [VHS] (VHS Tape)

James Woods is unbelievable in this movie.He is absolutely amazing as Lenny Brown the sharp as a knife down on his luck salesman with a beautiful wife(Sean Young)and an evergrowing loss of worth in his mind.Well his luck has changed for the better when he meets a man that basically gives Lenny and his wife a new life in Beverly Hills with a new job,car,and house.Soon Lenny begins to spend,spend,spend and before you know it his company goes straight under.And when hes at a party he dabbles in cocaine just to get his edge back and he convinces his wife to take it.What happens to Lenny after is an evergrowin addiction that he tries to kick but then something awful happens and he's back on more drugs,any drugs he can get crack,downers,pills,name it and the ending is bleak and disturbing.Woods gives his best and most disturbing and real performance of his carreer.Get this movie now.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing and realistic look at how powerful drugs are!, December 16, 2003

By	Michael Erisman (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Boost [VHS] (VHS Tape)

There are some among us who would like to legalize drugs. They ought to watch this film. There are some who think that drug addiction is just an excuse. They ought to watch this film. In fact if you ever wanted to know what its like to be addicted to cocaine, just watch this movie.

This movie is simply the most powerful depiction I have seen of the devastating effects drugs can have on people. James Woods is brilliant, and the gradual erosion of his life seems to happen without his knowledge. Like the frog boiling in water, it all slips away subtly and quietly. In the end, he depicts the painful and harsh reality of a person who cannot see that he is in any way at fault, and if he gets just "one more break" it will all work out again.

Tremendous film and a very under-rated performance by Woods.