Oh come on..."Wall Street" is a classic.
"...that's the thing about WASPs. They love animals, but they hate people."
Haven't thought about this movie in a while, really, as the world has changed so much since it came out. But when I do, I think of that sage line.
In retrospect "Wall Street" was a bit campy and myopic (but then again, so was the second half of the 1980's). Douglas and Sheen were awful, but back in the day big name "stars" were expected to signify "important" movies. As a package, it was classic Stone -- Large and in many ways compelling.
Oliver Stone is a decorated Viet Nam combat veteran (Purple Heart, Bronze Star) and was a Reagan supporter. His father was a stockbroker of the Olde School. He had a story to tell and unique perspective from which to tell it.
For my money, "Wall Street" had some timeless lines -- probably because the real Wall Street has many timeless lines. I am still taken by the fact that some of the best lines came from the villain, "Gekko" (oh, God please, that name), suggesting that perhaps he wasn't irredeemably wicked; although that idea wasn't very well developed and can only be surmised.
I don't think Stone is to be blamed for the fact that a generation of shallow alphas aspired to be the antihero. That would be the fault of their parents. For sure the business was never the same after they showed up.