Dumb Money is the latest of so many biopics in 2023 to hit our screens, this time telling the story of the now infamous short squeeze of GameStop stock back in 2020.
The film stars the ever-wonderful Paul Dano as Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty/Deep Fucking Value online, as he starts an online revolution amongst individual investors (called “Dumb Money” by corporate hedge funds) against mega corporations that prey on companies to fail to earn massive amounts of money.
Upon first glance, and if you’ve never heard of this miraculous situation to begin with, you’d think it’s totally made up. The fact that it is not makes the story so crazy. It all really happened and you can read about it here.
What Dumb Money does to both its own detriment and success, is really lean into the absurdity of its source material. So much so, in fact, that the film often feels like a parody of its own source than a biopic. Memes, TikToks, bouncing graphics all over the screen and a soundtrack that does not match the film whatsoever give it the feeling of something you might see on YouTube. Yet, the tone of the film also gives the essence that the filmmakers set out to make something good despite it’s crazy source material. It makes for a confusing tonal balance that left me a little confused in what direction they really wanted to go in.
The craziness also lends to the believability of the film, though. There’s something that just feels so real about it. Director Craig Gillespie was able to capture the current era of the internet well within the film, something that cannot be understated as so many films just cannot portray modern internet culture. It was, in all honesty, the best and most believable part of the film.
One problem that arises with any sort of film focusing on the financial sector and wall street is that inevitably you’ll run into jargon that the average viewer simply won’t get. Luckily, Dumb Money took a page out of The Big Short‘s book (ironically another film about shorting the stock market). What both films do incredibly well is that they explain within the confines of the film what things mean and then reinforce them throughout the film so that viewers really understand it. I came out of the film less confused about the events and terms of the film than I expected.
I was particularly surprised to see how much star power was involved in the cast of the film. Dano, Pete Davidson, Shailene Woodley, Seth Rogen, America Ferrera, Sebastian Stan and Nick Offerman all play prominent roles in the film. This sort of veteran screen presence really helped the film feel grounded and carried it through the rougher edges that Dumb Money most certainly possesses.
I do also want to note that the film portrays life during Covid particularly well.
Final Thoughts
Yes, Dumb Money is entertaining. Yes, you will enjoy Paul Dano on screen along with the rest of the cast. Yet, Dumb Money just felt like too much at times. It was a jarring experience that just didn’t feel particularly balanced in a way that’s noticeable as soon as credits roll. That said, I definitely enjoyed the film. Even if the soundtrack is a pretty horrendous match for the film.
