X
In Theaters Now
- 2023
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 45 m
- 2023
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 45 m
Summary Dumb Money is based on the insane true story of everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (yes, the mall videogame store) into the world’s hottest company. In the middle of everything is regular guy Keith Gill (Paul Dano), who starts it all by sinking his life savings into the stock and postin...
Directed By: Craig Gillespie
Written By: Lauren Schuker Blum, Rebecca Angelo, Ben Mezrich
In Theaters Now
- 2023
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 45 m
- 2023
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 45 m
Dumb Money
66
6.9
Where to Watch
Summary Dumb Money is based on the insane true story of everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (yes, the mall videogame store) into the world’s hottest company. In the middle of everything is regular guy Keith Gill (Paul Dano), who starts it all by sinking his life savings into the stock and postin...
Directed By: Craig Gillespie
Written By: Lauren Schuker Blum, Rebecca Angelo, Ben Mezrich
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 52 Critic Reviews
66
69% Positive
36 Reviews
36 Reviews
25% Mixed
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
6% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 52 Critic Reviews
66
69% Positive
36 Reviews
36 Reviews
25% Mixed
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
6% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
If it’s not exactly a documentary, Dumb Money offers up enjoyably anarchic glee as the little guy wins for a minute.
With a brisk, biting comic tone and a nice line in righteous anger, Dumb Money skilfully picks up The Big Short’s baton for cinematic-economic takedowns.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 15 User Ratings
6.9
67% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
20% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
13% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 15 User Ratings
6.9
67% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
20% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
13% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Enjoyed this. Kept it simple enough for the lay person to understand what was all going on. A very good cast who all performed very well.
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It falls short of being as incisive as it could have been and opts for a simplified portrayal of the events, but in one way or another that seems to be how it wants to deliver its message.
It's clear that Dumb Money is just looking to deliver an entertaining story about the real event that inspired it, and it's not going to make some sort of movie that gives you an explanation of every single angle involved in these events. It's a movie after all, not a forensic accounting explanation. In this regard, it meets my expectations.
The movie is nothing extraordinary, but credit must be given to what is well done.
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Dumb Money is a tale of 2020, and the movie captures that 2020 feeling — gray, depressed, anxious and almost comically miserable.
Dumb Money is a crowd-pleasing story with great performances and a script that keeps it simple.
As a primer for one of the funniest, most emotionally satisfying thumbs in the eye to the super-rich in recent memory, Dumb Money is a pretty good time. That said, it leaves out crucial details and has little time to dig deeper into its cast of characters, making it feel like a cardboard glimpse into a complicated blip in the rigged game of American finance.
It’s perilously close to being overstuffed (one more introduction would have tipped it over the edge) but a controlled and nimble script justifies the large ensemble, using each thread to quickly switch back and forth between the anger, ecstasy, disbelief and fear that seeped from conference to dorm room at the time.
The film’s status as a corporate entertainment product (among the film’s producers is the Winklevoss twins) also presents an internal discord in and of itself, particularly with the script incessantly preaching financial equality for all.
In 2021, YouTuber Keith Gill (Paul Dano) singled out GameStop as his favorite undervalued stock. This took off among individual investors and grew dramatically, which caused a bit of a panic with some institutional firms. There was potential for this to be a satirical expose like The Big Short (my review), but they chose to play it straight. As a result, we get a rather dry, by-the-numbers examination of how if affected several regular people, as well as some of the billionaire investors. This constant back and forth keeps the pace moving, but prevents any depth in the characters or situations. The aggressive soundtrack also keeps things lively. Even without any emotional connection, this film remains a fascinating examination of "little guy" personal investors taking on the Wall Street machine.
Report
Based on the insane true story of the average joes who scared the ever-living **** out of Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop into the world’s hottest company. One man, Keith Gill (Paul Dano) started this David vs. Goliath tale by spending his life savings on buying stock in GameStop and posting about it online. His social posts quickly capture the attention of normal people looking to get rich quick. The more people who get involved the more the stock goes up and the retail traders get rich. This obviously doesn’t go down too well with the Wall Street billionaires and they begin to fight back. Both sides soon find their worlds falling apart as the stocks rise to volatile levels.
It wasn’t that long ago that the GameStop saga happened, so many of you will probably remember hearing about it on the news in 2020/2021. Yes the company that charges mad money for video games and merchandise ended up soaring insanely high in the stock market due to a few youtubers posting about it. While I remember googling what the hell was happening as the news eventually broke across the pond, I never actually realised the sheer number of people who got involved in this madness and the extreme lengths the angry billionaires went to shut the whole thing down. Well I barely understood it then and if you’re in the same boat, lucky for us director Craig Gillespie has explained it to us in a fun and entertaining way.
Dumb Money is a crowd pleaser for sure. But sure if it’s a movie about the little guy going up against corporate greed it’s going to go down well with the majority. And when you see what these normal people were up against and competing against people with so much money it’s honestly sickening then it’s no wonder Keith Gill gained so much support in the first place. A youtuber that genuinely believed in GameStop and who “liked the stock” took a huge risk and set in motion a series of events that triggered some much needed scrutiny towards the shady dealings of billionaire brokers and hedge funds.
I suppose the obvious thing to do here would have been to make a documentary instead but we would have missed out on the excellent casting choices. Particularly Paul Dano as the eccentric cat loving youtuber. Including real footage from the time and particularly the online use of memes and gifs makes Dumb Money an entertaining and funny movie that’s well worth the ticket price.
Dumb Money does a good job in explaining this madness to those of us who haven’t a breeze about stocks. As for anyone who followed this story much more closely in real time, it does seem to have keep to the truth for the most part but there are of course some creative liberties. Recommended for those who liked The Big Short and anyone who believes in GameStop.
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Fun movie. Nothing groundbreaking. Felt like The Big Short in some ways. Nice overview of the GameStop stonk madness.
Report
Directed by Craig Gillespie ('Fright Night 2011', 'I'Tonya', 'Cruella'), there's really not much to tell here other than it's a wannabe 'The Big Short', only this time, the central focus is on the GameStop short squeezing of 2021. No new fresh or creative ideas here as far as the financial dramedy subgenre is concerned, and despite a stellar cast and an especially notable lead performance from the always reliable and supremely underrated Paul Dano, the film simply falls flat by the end and comes out as neither entertaining nor unique in any way and is simply rather forgettable.
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Production Company
Black Bear Pictures,
Columbia Pictures,
Ryder Picture Company,
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE),
Stage 6 Films
Release Date Sep 15, 2023
Duration 1 h 45 m
Rating R
Tagline Dear Wall Street...
