The film “Dumb Money” fails to capture the essence of the compelling and memorable story it is based on. The story, which revolved around the GameStop stock craze and the battle between retail traders and hedge fund managers, had all the elements of a modern-day David and Goliath narrative. However, the film adaptation falls short and instead delivers mostly montages of news footage and memes with a few scenes of famous actors looking at their phones and swearing.
The protagonist of the story is Keith Gill, played by Paul Dano, who becomes the symbol of the retail investors’ fight against Wall Street. Keith, a Brockton native working for Mass Mutual, risked his family’s savings on GameStop while the world deemed him crazy for backing a dying business during a pandemic. On the other side of the spectrum is Gabe Plotkin, played by Seth Rogen, the head of Melvin Capital, a hedge fund that bet against GameStop’s success. The losses incurred by hedge funds in such situations can escalate to astronomical levels, as shown in Margot Robbie’s famous bathtub scene in “The Big Short.”
The film is directed by Craig Gillespie, known for his smarmy take on true-life stories, such as “I, Tonya.” In “Dumb Money,” Gillespie attempts to turn the GameStop saga into a comedy, but the jokes fall flat. The bankers are portrayed as avaricious sociopaths, while the retail investors are depicted as humble, hardworking individuals. Despite the fact that the Reddit forum they frequented was filled with misogyny and antisemitism, the movie conveniently omits these traits from the characters. The film spends a significant amount of time following America Ferrera’s valiant frontline nurse character, a single mother struggling to make ends meet. However, it is worth noting that the character’s die-hard support for former President Trump, as depicted in the book, is deliberately left out of the film.
The film lacks drama and fails to connect the various characters, who are spread out across the country without ever meeting. Most of the action revolves around these characters holding onto their GameStop stocks, resulting in endless scenes of them watching numbers go up. The film relies heavily on digitally inserting movie stars into televised news programs, which becomes tiresome after a while.
The characters in the film remain one-dimensional, with no significant growth or development throughout the narrative. The only exception is Keith’s brother, played by Pete Davidson, who brings some comedic relief and surprisingly displays a soulful side. Davidson’s character is a DoorDash driver, often seen indulging in customers’ food, but he learns to be a better person while delivering clever one-liners. However, his infatuation with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the most relatable aspect of his character.
In an attempt to create a thrilling conclusion, the film introduces a false suggestion that Keith could face jail time for securities fraud, a scenario that was never a real threat. The film includes a crowd-pleasing moment with Keith testifying before Congress, distracting viewers from the story’s downbeat ending. In reality, the GameStop situation was resolved when the Robinhood trading app temporarily halted its customers from buying meme stocks, allowing hedge funds to cover their positions. This obvious case of collusion went unnoticed and unpunished.
The film deliberately sidesteps the dark undertones of the GameStop story, which reflect a very unsettling and foolish time in America. Fueled by anger over the inequities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, a mass movement of citizens chose to forgo large sums of money they could have made by selling their stocks, solely to spite wealthy individuals profiting from the crisis. There is an underlying anger that persists, and if conditions do not improve, it could escalate into something far more dangerous than saving a video game franchise. However, “Dumb Money” refuses to delve into these deeper issues. It fails to mention other significant events happening simultaneously and chooses to focus solely on the feel-good moments of financial success for its main characters.
In conclusion, “Dumb Money” does not live up to the potential of its compelling story. The film lacks depth, fails to capture the true essence of the characters, and conveniently sidesteps important aspects of the narrative. It ultimately leaves viewers unsatisfied and overshadowed by the missed opportunities for a more thought-provoking exploration of the GameStop saga.