Dumb Money
Throughout Dumb Money, it’s difficult not to be reminded of The Social Network.
Both films are based on books by Ben Mezrich that recount two of the most important technological events of the 20th century. And, like David Fincher’s and Aaron Sorkin’s masterful look at the early days of Facebook, Craig Gillespie’s direction and the screenplay by Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo keep the dramatization of the GameStop stock saga in steady, entertaining motion.
Hell, even Will Bates’ electronic score frequently resembles the haunting, Oscar-winning work by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. But while one could do a lot worse than pick The Social Network to emulate, Dumb Money is very much its own movie.
Rather than feature a mere handful of likable characters, Gillespie’s film thrives on its premise of appealing underdogs seeking to better their standing by beating the billionaires at their own game. And at the center of this movement is the king of likability: Keith Gill (Paul Dano), a Brockton, Mass.-based financial analyst who regularly retreats to his basement to post livestream videos of his thoughts on particular stocks in the subreddit r/WallStreetBets under the name Roaring Kitty.
In summer 2020, after reading the tea leaves of his trade, Keith becomes convinced that GameStop’s plummeting stock is a good investment. Though his goofy videos modestly boost GameStop’s numbers, once it’s revealed that multiple hedge fund managers, namely Gabe Plotkin (Seth Rogen) at Melvin Capital Management, have been shorting the stock for years, a David vs. Goliath narrative emerges that proves infectious for average Janes and Joes.
Among Keith’s rapt (read: debt-riddled) audience are nurse Jennifer (America Ferrera), University of Texas girlfriends Riri (Myha'la Herrold, Bodies Bodies Bodies) and Harmony (Talia Ryder, Never Rarely Sometimes Always), and GameStop employee Marcus (Anthony Ramos), and the communal faith they have in Roaring Kitty — especially once the stock takes off — is a joy to behold.
In addition to the dazzling barrage of memes, tweets, and other communication from the r/WallStreetBets gang, popular hip-hop tracks from 2020-21 amplify the amateur traders’ go-getter attitudes and, frankly, the out-of-touch nature of the wealthy forces who oppose them.
Complementing Rogen’s Plotkin, Vincent D’Onofrio's Steve “I Own the Mets” Cohen and Nick Offerman’s Ken Griffin form a triangle of 1% villains whose comeuppance can’t arrive soon enough. And while Robin Hood stock trading app co-founder Vlad Tenev appears to be a man of the people, he shows his true colors when his riches are threatened, and Gillespie stock player Sebastian Stan plays him like a handsome robot experiencing a slight malfunction.
The ridiculously talented ensemble elevates the already strong material, and though the script skimps on Keith’s past, glossing over his illustrious high school track days and the recent loss of his sister Sara, interactions with his family nicely shade in his character traits. Along with being a good husband to his supportive wife Caroline (Shailene Woodley) and a caring father to their toddler, Keith has a loving bond with his parents (Kate Burton and Clancy Brown) and does what he can with his layabout brother Kevin (Pete Davidson, excelling at playing himself…again).
And while it’s a cautionary tale as much as a victorious one, Dumb Money also serves as a potential catalyst for non-professional traders to become more financially savvy and take a more hand-on role in their future. That personal betterment layer is one of many that combine to make Gillespie’s latest winner one of the year’s best films.
Grade: A-minus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, Grail Moviehouse, and Regal Biltmore Grande.
(Photo: Sony Pictures)
