Directed by Craig Gillespie, Dumb Money follows the insane true story of a group of rag-tag investors from the Reddit page called r/WallStreetBets, who banded together to put the squeeze on at least two hedge funds that had bet that GameStop shares would fall. The GameStop short squeeze of 2021 was probably one of the biggest financial events in years, becoming viral to the point where no matter what social media platform you were on you were bound to see something about it. It impacted the lives of many people and it was a wild set of events that had so many crazy turns that you’d think this would be something that would only happen in a movie. But it really happened and this 2023 biographical film chronicles the events and the people involved on both sides of what could simply be described as a stock market war.
I have zero knowledge or experience in stock market investing but I was very curious to see this film in order to learn about what really went on, as well as of course see the awesome ensemble cast that was assembled by talented director Craig Gillespie. After getting the chance to see an early screening of it, I think Dumb Money is a very interesting, very entertaining, and very relevant underdog story that I believe will be a major crowd-pleaser.
Even if you have no knowledge of the stock market like I do this film does a great job of breaking down this insane true story through multiple perspectives; it hooks you into it all the way through and takes you on a wild ride. This film is very much carried by the combination of a fantastically picked cast, Gillespie’s energetic style, and a witty script that is guaranteed to bring plenty of laughs.
There are lots of great performances across the board, with every cast member getting a chance to shine with both comedy and drama. Spearheading the film is the massively talented and underrated Paul Dano who continues to show so much range in his performances, which was very much evident in his energetic portrayal of the geeky financial analyst and YouTuber Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty. Keith can be best described as a people’s champion for amateur investors and fellow geeks, one who managed to change the course of financial history all because he liked GameStop’s stock and considered it to be undervalued in the eyes of Wall Street.
You’d think he’s absolutely nuts for what he’s risking but when you see his personal life and what drives him to lead such a mass online movement you can’t help but root for the guy, and Paul Dano brings great life into this role, both as a fun internet personality and an everyday relatable guy. He also shares electrifying chemistry with Shailene Woodley and surprisingly Pete Davidson, who is absolutely hilarious with his quick-fire humor.
There are also some strong supporting performances from America Ferrera, Anthony Ramos, Talia Ryder, and Myha’la Herrold who each play various amateur investors that you root for equally as they join in the GameStop stock craze.
On the other side, you have the various billionaire hedge fund CEOs who are given distinct personalities by their respective actors but are all corporate douchebags that you love to hate. Seth Rogen, Vincent D’Onofrio, Nick Offerman, and even Sebastian Stan play brilliantly as the greedy slimeballs they are portraying, making them a perfect set of real-life villains you love to see get absolutely destroyed.
Seeing the two sides of this stock market war for GameStop is a wild ride that you get to see from fascinating perspectives. You see the billionaires attempt to work together to manipulate the market in their favor but then at the same time you see them screw each other over for percentages, which ultimately leads to their downfall. On the other hand, you have an army of internet users under the guidance of Keith who all manage to work together in chaotic yet blissful harmony which makes them an inspiring force to be reckoned with in the financial world.
The events this film chronicles feel extremely relevant to current events regarding the ongoing strikes with the WGA and SAG going against greedy studio executives who are currently bleeding money thanks to the power of the people that they completely underestimated. If there’s anything this film teaches it is to never underestimate the power of the people unified by a common goal, as well as to never underestimate the influence social media can have as well. It’s a relevant underdog story that has high entertainment value and has the makings of being a good crowd-pleaser.
I will say though that people who may have more knowledge of stock market investing may enjoy this film way more than most as this film does require some knowledge of how stock markets work to understand certain things. The film does explain and show some basics that allow people with little knowledge like me to understand things, but there is definitely a lot that others may see more than me and therefore likely get more out of this film aside from lots of great laughs. Basically, this film is like Air but for stock market geeks.
Outside of the film’s great ensemble, strong script, and relevant themes, I will admit the film isn’t all that impressive from a technical standpoint. This film has Gillespie’s energetic direction present for sure but compared to some of his previous work it’s not that visually stunning or memorable. When you look at films like I, Tonya and Cruella there’s a lot of artistic freedom shown on display throughout both films (especially with cinematography) but in this film, I didn’t feel much of that, aside from certain editing choices involving the news segments and social media posts. Whether this was Gillespie’s choice or a choice set by the studio I am not sure, but I wouldn’t have minded a bit more visual flair to go with the absolutely nuts nature of the events that unfold.
As for music, I will say the score by Will Bates is decent but the soundtrack by various artists was a mixed bag for me. There were some song choices I liked and others that I really didn’t, but maybe that’s a matter of personal taste.
Aside from all that I think this film is a mostly satisfying watch that I would definitely recommend people swatch, especially to see just how crazy yet relevant the true story is to current events, as well as offering great entertainment value. Do I think everyone will really groove into this film as much as I did? I don’t know for sure but based on the happy reactions of the audience in my theater I can see this film gaining an audience, especially for those who love a good underdog story. I’m going to give Dumb Money a B+ = 89.
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