October 2, 2023 · Watch the official trailer
Somewhere along the way, filmmakers got the impression that every financial crime story needs to be told as a dark ensemble comedy that sneers at the rich and roots for the relative underdog.
It’s the wrong lessons that studios have learned from successes like Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” and Adam McKay’s “The Big Short,” which have relegated complex financial transactions into something that can only be explained by making light of the situation.
The depths of underhanded dealings that happen daily on Wall Street and beyond deserve far more nuance than are ultimately provided in these films.
And while the intention is to not leave audiences completely depressed or with a sour taste in their mouths about the world’s economy, perhaps a bit more context and additional dramatic aspects in storytelling might more well round the experience of moviegoers who may only know of these crises when they sit down in theaters or feel them in their own pocketbooks.
Such is the case with director Craig Gillespie’s latest film, “Dumb Money,” which takes a moderately shallow look into the exploitation and inflation of stock prices surrounding the fledgling company GameStop during the early days of COVID-19.
While “Dumb Money” isn’t a pandemic movie in the truest sense, it does start to further unravel the everyday lives of citizens across all class levels during a pivotal time in world history from a largely comedic perspective.
The film requires a deep ensemble cast in order to tell such a complex story even somewhat effectively and “Dumb Money” is led by a terrific performance from veteran character actor Paul Dano whose unlikely, underground stock hero Keith Gill is just quirky and charming enough for audiences to rally behind without being so demonstrably likable that the singularity of the performance takes over the larger comedy of the film.
Through both affectation and line delivery, Dano has an unique ability to stand out in a crowd of much louder character with a quieter, sharper turn which is offset by an over-the-top, brash and largely unnecessary effort from “Saturday Night Live” alumni Pete Davidson as Keith’s stoner brother Kevin.
Shailene Woodley is also excellent in short bursts as Keith’s wife Caroline while the numerous small scale retail investors portrayed by a wide array of actors including “In The Heights” star Anthony Ramos and “Barbie” star America Ferrera help to layer the overall world of “Dumb Money,” but aren’t given enough for audiences to truly become invested in their characters beyond their mere financial burdens.
Conversely, the world of big Wall Street is capably, slimily portrayed by the film’s most notable stars with Seth Rogen excelling at times and going way too far at others as a bumbling hedge fund manager who is set to lose billions on the rise of GameStop. Both Nick Offerman and Sebastian Stan in much smaller roles stand out well beyond Rogen’s most bombastic portrayal.
Tonally, “Dumb Money” leans from straight forward comedy to more dry humor to the occasional dramatic moment relatively well, though the tone is generally inconsistent enough to keep audiences from becoming fully immersed in the narrative. This is probably due to the fact that “Dumb Money” focuses on perhaps one or two too many storylines and side characters rather than giving ample time to go deeper into the story itself.
On the whole, however, “Dumb Money” is a largely fun time at the movies that will leave viewers frustrated at Wall Street greed and cheering for the little guy in the end and is solid enough to take a chance on in theaters before the true awards season begins.
Leave a Reply