Dumb Money
The true story of a maverick investor and YouTuber is interesting up to a point, but a good cast cannot breathe life into the mystifying scenario.
Basement bargains: Shailene Woodley and Paul Dano
‘Dumb money’ is the sort of money that people like you and me invest. However, if enough people like you and me invest in a particular stock, it could potentially go ballistic. There is a lot of esoteric Wall Street talk in Craig Gillespie’s true-life drama, but without Margot Robbie in a bubble bath to explain the minutiae (cf. The Big Short), it does get a little confusing. Terms like “a holding purchase” or “diamond hands” compete for our attention alongside the numerous explanatory captions pinpointing precisely where a character is in the US, along with their net value. So, Pittsburgh nurse Jenny Campbell (America Ferrera) is actually $136 in debt, while a fat cat hedge fund manager like Ken Griffin (Nick Offerman) is worth $16 billion (give or take a few thousand).
The film’s protagonist Roaring Kitty (aka Keith Gill), played by Paul Dano, is a recreational YouTuber (net worth: $47k) who spots a chink in the system. Like a low-rent version of Christian Bale’s Michael Burry in The Big Short, he bets against Wall Street by buying stock in what he believes to be an undervalued electronics and gaming retailer called GameStop. Sporting a red headband and feline accessories, Kitty holds court in the basement of his bungalow, posting his own bank balance online and encouraging his followers to keep on buying more stock. The steamrolling effect cuts into the profits of many Wall Street “gangsters”, with an investor like Gabe Plotkin (Seth Rogen) losing $1 billion in 24 hours.
All this happened as recently as 2021, providing the drama with a timely edge, particularly as we are treated to the familiar imagery of mask wearing and nasal swabbing. As different characters in the economic food chain watch their fortunes soar or plummet, there are perhaps too many winners and losers to care about, while Kitty himself proves to be an overly eccentric, distant figure with a checkered agenda. More sympathetic are the student lovers Riri (Myha'la) and Harmony (Talia Ryder), who trust Kitty implicitly, with the latter’s $145k debt turning into a handsome credit. If Adam McKay made high finance sexy in his stylish, funny and compelling The Big Short, Craig Gillespie (Cruella) can only summon up a mildly erotic frisson. So, anybody waiting for the money shot may find themselves more than disappointed.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D'Onofrio, America Ferrera, Myha'la, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Talia Ryder, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley, Seth Rogen, Kate Burton, Clancy Brown, Rushi Kota, Larry Owens, Dane DeHaan, Olivia Thirlby.
Dir Craig Gillespie, Pro Aaron Ryder, Teddy Schwarzman and Craig Gillespie, Screenplay Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, from the book The Antisocial Network by Ben Mezrich, Ph Nikolas Karakatsanis, Pro Des Scott Kuzio, Ed Kirk Baxter, Music Will Bates, Costumes Kameron Lennox, Dialect coach Elizabeth Himelstein.
Columbia Pictures/Stage 6 Films/Black Bear Pictures/Ryder Picture Company-Sony Pictures.
104 mins. USA. 2023. UK Rel: 22 September 2022. US Rel: 29 September 2023. Cert. 15.
