Dumb Money

Summary

“I just like the stock”

A couple years ago, I remember that a friend recommended that I take a small gamble and put a little bit of money into GameStop’s stock. There was a run on the stock led by a bunch of people on Reddit and it was crushing the short bets made by some large hedge funds. My brother and I both invested a little and after a short run, we pulled out, happy to have made a quick gain on our investment. It was a fun experience. Based on that experience, I was very familiar with  the GameStop stock story which inspired Ben Mezrich’s book The Antisocial Network. I have enjoyed several of Mezrich’s books, but that one passed me by. When I saw that his book was the basis for the movie Dumb Money, and the excellent ensemble cast assembled for the film, I was excited to check it out. Dumb Money has been given a Blu-ray release by Sony Pictures, and I watched the movie the other night.

Dumb Money tells the story of how Keith Gill (Paul Dano,) using his online persona of Roaring Kitty, inspired a legion of Reddit users in a group called Wall Street Bets to rally against the hedge funds that were shorting the floundering GameStop stock. Keith’s recommendation to buy GameStop, alongside his presentation of his own financial records online for all to see, caused a huge surge in the stock price which put him (and his followers) in a battle against hedge fund operators (Seth Rogen, Nick Offerman, and Vincent D’Onofrio) with billions of dollars in backing. At the center of the battle was the online trading platform Robinhood owned by Vlad Tenev (Sebastian Stan) and Baiju Bhatt (Rushi Kota) which allowed people without means to easily invest. Keith is supported by his wife Caroline (Shailene Woodley,) who sees their value on paper rise dramatically but contends with the worry of them losing everything if he holds the stock for too long. He is playing against the hedge funds who don’t play completely by the rules. The film also pays attention to different personas (America Ferrera, Anthony Ramos) that, inspired by Keith Gill, invested and watched their value soar (or decline) depending on how long they held the stock.

Dumb Money is neither great nor bad overall. The main plot of the picture itself is solid, and the film has assembled a great cast to play those roles. I really enjoyed the casting of Paul Dano, Nick Offerman, Seth Rogen, and others for the actual main plot within the picture that matters. Unfortunately, the film’s screenplay layers on numerous fictional characters such as the roles played by America Ferrera and Marcos Garcia to try to show how various people of various walks of life invested in the stock. I have to say that, the film just felt like it tried too hard. The film constantly barrages the viewer with songs from 2021 such as Cardi B’s “WAP” and TikTok videos and other things that managed to distract from the key parts of the story that mattered. While some of this might work, the film repeatedly did this. I did not like this approach. Looking online at reviews, this is consistently what other reviewers have said as well. Basically, the film did not take a mature enough approach towards the material to make the film something that will linger with an audience much longer after the film’s credits roll. It’s entertaining and has some good moments, but it trips over these unnecessary narrative devices.

I want to give kudos to the performances overall. They are all well rendered. It is unfortunate that the script fails to develop actual characters out of the roles played by Seth Rogen, Sebastian Stan, or Nick Offerman, because if the film had stuck to the facts and made all of these characters stand out (like we have seen in films such as The Social Network, which was also based on a Ben Mezrich book) I think the movie could have been wonderful. The film’s sense of humor within the confines of the main story actually works, and these characters could have been a lot of fun to learn more about if given more focus or backstory.

As it stands, if you are interested in the story at the heart of the picture, Dumb Money tells the story decently enough. Unfortunately, it does not do much more than that. 

Video

Dumb Money has been released onto Blu-ray in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 in 1080p. The film was shot using digital film and Arri cameras using Leitz lenses in 4.5K. The mastering of the film was performed digitally in 4K. As has recently been the case with many of the studio Blu-ray releases, especially with Sony’s QC department, the film looks basically as good as it possibly can on the Blu-ray format. The film’s cinematography by Nicolas Karakastsanis is not showy, but it gets the job done. I didn’t notice any issues whatsoever.

Audio

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track sounds really good. The film is obviously dialogue heavy, but the film also has some interesting soundtrack choices including Megan Thee Stalion and Cardi B. All of it sounds as it should, as perplexing as this approach might be for the viewer.

Supplements:

• Audio Commentary – Screenwriters Rebecca Angelo and Lauren Schuker Blum.
• Fat Cats Vs. The Roaring Kitty – a brief behind-the-scenes featurette.
• Diamond Hand Ensemble – a quick look at the actors in the film.
• Deleted Scenes

Overall Scores:

Video: 5/5

Audio: 4.5/5

Supplements: 2.5/5

Overall – 3.25/5

Dumb Money has a talented cast and the story it focuses on regarding Wall Street Bets and the GameStop stock surge is interesting. Unfortunately, the film’s script does not stay focused on the main players of the story enough (aside from Keith Gill) to develop them fully into characters rather than caricatures. Instead, the film divides its focus to hone in on numerous fictional characters created specifically to represent everyday investors in the stock. The film also suffers from using songs like Cardi B’s “WAP” and barraging the viewer with a lot of TikTok style social media. These create throwaway moments and make the film feel immature. The film suffers from these distractions. Sony’s Blu-ray, as one would expect, has solid technical specs. Overall, the film is hampered by how the material was handled despite solid performances and a good central story within the picture. If you are a fan of this film, there is no reason to hesitate to purchase. Otherwise, I would encourage renting the film prior to purchasing.