A Failing Company and a Game-Changing Event

Paul Dano in "Dumb Money"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

Given how many factors go into the stock market, it’s a marvel how any movie can juggle everything that such a concept involves.  With movies such as “Wall Street,” “Margin Call,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and “The Big Short,” each of them has provided a story that takes a look at this financial entity and the people within.  It’s one of those concepts where, if you don’t know much about it, there’s some fascinating viewing to be had as your eyes become open to the complex inner-workings of stocks.

Director Craig Gillespie decides to visit the stock market for his latest film, “Dumb Money,” a humorous and thrilling account of an underdog story from the labyrinth of finance.

In early 2021, financial analyst and YouTuber Keith Gill (Paul Dano) lives in Brockton, Massachusetts, and posts videos that help everyday Americans know which are the best stocks to buy.  When he and his viewers buy shares in the downtrodden GameStop video-game company and turn it into one of the most popular companies in the world, the higher-ups on Wall Street do what they can to turn the market back in the favor.

Dano offers an inspirational performance as a man who’s trying to help the little guy find his way in the tumultuous world of stocks.  He brings out Gill’s enthusiasm for his knowledge of the financial trading system, showing an individual who has the know-how to succeed and finds joy in seeing other struggling Americans achieve the same.  There’s an abundance of energy to Dano as we see his character going through the thought process of trying to decipher what’s going on with GameStop, figuring out his next move as he attempts to get his best advice out to the public.  While all of this takes place, Dano also brings out an understated emotional side to Keith as he continues to grapple with a recent personal loss, all while trying to maintain the bond with his family and care for them anyway that he can.  This presents a compassionate side to him that shows Keith is more than an online personality, and Dano brings both of those aspects to his character with typically superb effect.

Backing up Dano is a terrific array of supporting performances, particularly Pete Davidson as Keith’s brother, Kevin; America Ferrera as Jennifer Campbell, a nurse and frequent viewer of Keith’s YouTube channel; Anthony Ramos as Marcos, a GameStop store clerk; Shailene Woodley as Keith’s wife, Caroline; and Seth Rogen as Gabe Plotkin, founder and chief investment officer of Melvin Capital Management.  These performances offer a fine view into how this major financial event impacted different groups of people, and each of these cast members has a chance to make an impression in this finance-world tapestry.

The screenplay by Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, which is based off of Ben Mezrich’s 2021 book, “The Antisocial Network,” may at times feel like it’s trying to be “The Big Short,” but it nevertheless offers a fascinating view into what happened during the GameStop short squeeze.  Even with its lean 105-minute runtime, the movie shows plenty of factors to this event.  Between showing this story through multiple angles, from Wall Street head-honchos to middle-class working Americans to college students, we see this story reach through several classes of people.  It’s a narrative with several intriguing layers that look into how average people bested those at the top, and how those at the top tried to stay there.

Gillespie, who directed the fantastic, irreverence-laced true story chronicle, “I, Tonya,” follows a similar laugh-out-loud approach to this film.  He does wonderful work with balancing the humor in the middle of the eye-opening details that come to light as the as the GameStop stock becomes hotter and hotter.  He maintains the tenseness and energy of the story with snappy editing by Kirk Baxter and a dynamic score from Will Bates, all of which help to keep you hooked as the film brings you through this surprising chapter of American finance.

While based-on-a-true-story films are always enticing, there’s a little more intrigue when the events of the film happened recently.  And, if you’re looking for a movie such as that, “Dumb Money” is a terrific story of everyday people beating the professionals at their own game.

Grade: A-