Stockbroker Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen, left) falls under the influence of corporate raider Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) in the 1987 film Wall Street. (Fox Home Entertainment)

Anyone who’s looked at their investment statements lately can’t be feeling particularly well-disposed toward the financial industry. Over the years, Hollywood has cast glances at the world of high finance, often depicting it as cruel, ruthless, morally bereft, two-faced and obsessed with the bottom line (a world that, come to think of it, sounds a lot like Hollywood itself). Here’s a sampling of films that have criticized big business.

Wall Street (1987)

Plot: Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) is an ambitious stockbroker who falls under the influence of corporate raider Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). Fox accumulates all kinds of signifiers of ’80s wealth: a cool apartment, slick designer clothes and a massive cellphone. Blinded by these material comforts, Bud inadvertently betrays his saintly, working-class father (played by real-life dad Martin Sheen).

Takeaway message: Greed is good — until you get caught coughing up insider information.

Corporate wrongdoing quotient: 9/10

__________

Trading Places (1983)

(Paramount)

Plot: Conceited commodities broker Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) and small-time con man Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) are forced to “trade places” when Winthorpe’s bosses – two curmudgeonly gazillionaires played by Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy – make a wager over whether Murphy’s uneducated character can succeed in the world of high finance.

Takeaway message: Given how quickly Murphy’s character learns to manipulate the futures market, it’s fair to assume that street smarts can serve as an acceptable substitute for a formal business education.

Corporate wrongdoing quotient: 5/10

__________

Working Girl (1988)

Plot: Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith), a secretary in mergers and acquisitions at a prestigious Wall Street firm, desperately wants to move up the corporate ladder. She hatches a brilliant plan that would help one of the company’s clients, then discovers that her condescending boss, Katherine Porter (Sigourney Weaver), aims to steal the idea. Tess gets revenge by posing as a corporate mucky-muck, negotiating the complicated deal and stealing Porter’s boyfriend (played by Harrison Ford) to boot. As Tess famously declares, “I have a head for business and a bod for sin.”

Takeaway message: If you really want to get ahead, sometimes it’s OK to commit fraud.

Corporate wrongdoing quotient: 4/10

__________

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)

Plot: In this film version of the 1961 stage musical, J. Pierpont Finch (Robert Morse) gets a job as a mailroom clerk at the Worldwide Wicket Company. Following advice from a dog-eared paperback called How to Succeed in Business, he becomes chairman of the board within a week. A marvellous satire of the unctuousness that’s often required to advance in the workplace, this musical contains tunes like the retro-flavoured A Secretary Is Not a Toy and The Company Way .

Takeaway message: Suck up to everyone, and you’ll become head of your company within seven days.

Corporate wrongdoing quotient: 1/10

__________

The Secret of My Success (1987)

(Universal Studios)

Plot: After establishing his credentials as the money-obsessed Alex P. Keaton on TV's Family Ties, Michael J. Fox took on the film role of Brantley Foster, another character desperate to accrue wealth. Although Brantley’s been assigned to work in the mailroom of Pemrose Incorporated, the MBA grad decides to add to his load by taking over a vacant office and posing as an executive. Working two jobs simultaneously in the same company is both exhausting and risky — Brantley frequently finds himself changing outfits in the elevator. Improbably, Brantley eventually becomes the director of Pemrose Inc.

Takeaway message: Posing as a non-existent executive named Carlton Whitfield isn’t ethically sound, but it could get you promoted.

Corporate wrongdoing quotient: 3/10

__________

Boiler Room (2000)

Plot: Seth Davis (played by Giovanni Ribisi) works at J.T. Marlin, a low-rent “boiler room,” a brokerage firm that exists solely to dupe its clientele, selling stocks that are virtually worthless. Although he’s making a ridiculous amount of money, Davis develops a guilty conscience. He ends up co-operating with the FBI, helping them shut down the operation.

Takeaway message: If a stranger calls out of nowhere and offers to sell you stocks, you should probably hang up.

Corporate wrongdoing quotient: 6/10

__________

(Magnolia Pictures)

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)

Plot: Documentary director Alex Gibney lays out all the gory details of Enron’s rise and fall. Once the seventh-largest corporation in the U.S., the Houston-based energy company now stands as a symbol of business folly and greed; their creative accounting practices set a benchmark in corporate excess.

Takeaway message: If you ever find yourself CEO of a major energy supplier, try to resist creating a bogus energy crisis in California. Also, don’t walk away with millions of dollars while leaving your investors and employees with nothing.

Corporate wrongdoing quotient: 10/10

Greig Dymond writes about the arts for CBCNews.ca.