DUMB MONEY (2023) - Movie Review

Director: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Shailene Woodley, Nick Offerman, Seth Rogen, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Ramos, America Ferrera, Myha'la, Kate Burton, Clancy Brown
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Writer: Lauren Schuker Blum, Rebecca Angelo
Runtime: 105 min
Rated: R
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

Dumb Money is the ultimate David vs. Goliath tale, based on the insane true story of everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (yes, the mall video game store) into the world's hottest company. In the middle of everything is regular guy Keith Gill (Paul Dano), who starts it all by sinking his life savings into the stock and posting about it. When his social posts start blowing up, so does his life and the lives of everyone following him. As a stock tip becomes a movement, everyone gets rich – until the billionaires fight back, and both sides find their worlds turned upside down.

Review:

If it wasn't already a true story, "Dumb Money" would have been a kick-ass satire of our times. Based on the book "The Antisocial Network" by Ben Mezrich, the dramedy depicts the notorious GameStop shorting scandal in a way that is at once funny and poignant. Craig Gillespie, who directed "I, Tonya", "The Finest Hour", "Million Dollar Arm", and episodes of the limited series "Pam & Tommy", has a knack for stranger than fiction stories, and once again he doesn't disappoint.

This is a tricky movie to pull off, not just because of the huge cast of players involved, but also because of the difficult to understand financial jargon. Adam McKay's "The Big Short" is a prime example of how to handle stories like this. I would say that Gillespie does a great job establishing the characters, so much so that I found it extremely easy to keep up with who was who, and what their motivations were. The financial aspects of the story are perhaps not as well explained, but the filmmakers offer just enough details without going too deep into the technical aspects, which actually saves this rather short movie from losing momentum.

While it takes a bit to get going, when it gets to the meat of its "David vs. Goliath" story, the movie becomes a rousing piece of entertainment. The humor is well balanced with the more dramatic aspects, and I appreciated that Gillespie reigns in any excess. A lesser director might have taken too much inspiration from something like the "The Wolf of Wall Street". Most of the actors are solid, with standout performances from Paul Dano, Shailene Woodley and America Ferrera. Seth Rogen is surprisingly restrained here, which is much appreciated. However, if you hate Pete Davidson, nothing here will make you like him more. He's loud and aggravating, but on the other hand the character is meant to be an a-hole, so I guess he nailed the part.

Although it's no masterpiece, it's a well-made and a surprisingly effective crowd-pleasing dramedy that offers an insightful glimpse into modern day meme culture and the absurdity of the stock market.

SCORE: 7.5/10