Dumb Money
Sony Pictures ReleasingWhile 2020 was undoubtedly a year of global disaster, there were a handful of brighter stories to release throughout the year with one of the most infamous being the saga surrounding GameStop stock. As billionaires bet against the stock, a massive social media movement saw the stock rise in price largely led by internet streamer Keith Gill, portrayed in the film by Paul Dano. As the stock soared, these everyday individuals started to see incredible returns on their investments while billionaires lost millions by the day. It was only a matter of time until this wacky yet important story found its way to the big screen with Craig Gillespie getting the first crack at it with Dumb Money. Following up his impressive work on I, Tonya and Cruella, Gillespie looks to find a holistic capturing of the situation with an ensemble cast bringing to life all sides of the story. While there are points that work within the film, the feature as a whole remains a mixed effort as Gillespie struggles to find both direction and voice within the film's style and size.
Clearly taking inspiration from Adam McKay's work on The Big Short, his 2015 film capturing the start of the 2007–2008 financial crisis, Dumb Money immediately defines itself with a loud and self-aware charisma that hopes to find a connection to audiences through an entertaining quality. The film is quick to blast Cardi B's WAP and throughout the runtime uses internet memes and comedic editing to create a feature that often prioritizes fun and engagement. With a topic as thrilling as Wall Street and the legality behind the operation of stocks, this is a smart move as a film such as this could become very dull very quickly. The key difference between Dumb Money and a film like The Big Short, however, is craft and direction.
While The Big Short looks to be entertaining, it also is an incredibly crafted and controlled film that uses entertainment as a way to hook audiences and explain the information needed to give them an understanding of what they are watching. The over-the-top style never detracts from the film or causes the focus of the feature to get lost. In Dumb Money, this connection is almost immediately lost as the comedy nearly never actually explains what is happening or truly moves the film, instead, it simply is there to get a laugh. This is an increasingly large problem as the film around these sequences ultimately fails to truly dive into the specifics of what is happening leading to a feature that can be hard to understand and follow. Especially as the film moves onto a congressional hearing, there is a complete lack of explanation surrounding the stakes the film tries to add in, making the film ultimately fail in its own identity as being a feature that will explain what happened with these events being portrayed.
It also doesn't help that the film takes such a wide scope. The film follows a handful of different perspectives and individuals throughout the feature which feels like more of a way to include more popular actors than actually build a worthy narrative. Multiple of these perspectives get very little payoff and add very little of substance to the feature while also eating up runtime and feeling all-around stale. While one might look at the cast and see promise in the likes of America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan, and Shailene Woodley, make no mistake that due to a stretched runtime and lack of purpose none of these performers actually get a chance to produce meaningful or memorable work.
The few actors that do get a more substantial presence are still hurt by the distracted nature of the feature. The two main figures of the film are played by Paul Dano and Seth Rogen who are able to showcase their emotional strengths as performers as they go through the highs and lows of going through these events from completely different sides of the spectrum. As he tends to do, Pete Davidson also thrives as he makes the most of his limited comedic spots and never feels like he is holding back. While each individual might get 1-2 memorable moments, it is clear that having this large of a cast was a mistake for the film which is already suffering from the aforementioned narrative struggles.
While it is clear that every aspect of Dumb Money is truly being built for entertainment, that doesn't stop the film from having some truly forced and underwhelming moments that reach for true poignance. Naturally, the film is self-conscious of the COVID-19 pandemic which serves as a backdrop for the film. While there is nothing inherently wrong with calling attention to this, the film feels quite exploitative at times in how it tries to use the massive loss of life and community during the pandemic to attempt to add meaning to the events being portrayed throughout the film. This is an incredibly undeserving connection and theme that is sprinkled through the film without ever having true reflection or meditation on to make their point feel justified or even really respected within the feature. Without giving anything away, the final few moments of the film are also confusing when it comes to how the film positions its emotional power. Clearly trying to be a celebration of these events, the film wants to have a grand ending but has this as it also immediately undercuts this positive feeling by sharing real-life developments that directly go against the narrative it is pushing.
Dumb Money is a frustrating feature. While undoubtedly entertaining and fun, the film ultimately fails to find the depth and comprehension of events that it seems to be promising. The film goes through the motions of what it takes to be engaging but forgets to add the focus and substance needed to make that engaging watch actually worthwhile.
