Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Dumb Money’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

Paul Dano as Kevin Gill in ‘Dumb Money’. (Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the motion picture, ‘Dumb Money.’ Also, this piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
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It is definitely safe to say, that the average American is dealing with a lot right now. After all, the political landscape is scary, and the polarizing nature of the right has everyone worried if freedom will still ring long term in America. Not to mention, people are fighting over the fundamentals of truth and science like never before, and that adds unwanted stress to everyday life. Since you simply don’t know if a friendly conversation will take a turn for the worse when someone feels the need to step in and speak their ‘facts’ in a weirdly passionate matter. Plus, there are grave concerns about equality and bodily autonomy since we are taking a step back there as a nation, and of course… there are all the stresses that come forth from wealth inequality in America. For the rich really are getting richer, and they’re so greedy and out of touch with the everyday man, they’re resorting to strange behavior to make more profits and shield their egos. All of which is just exhausting to think about, but there is hope out there.
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After all, people are suddenly voting in droves to protect their rights, and they’re rejecting ancient dogmas and outdated ideas as best they can, and they’re standing up for what’s right… and the rich are getting their wakeup call. Because the strikes happening around the nation speak to folks that are done with being paid less while their boss is paid two-thousand times more, and people are rejecting the nonsense narratives the ultra-rich are sending out into the world to make themselves look better or to make their actions appear justified. But of course, for those kinds of responses to exist, a spark had to be lit at some point down the line. Now the political one was quite obvious in nature, courtesy of four years of concern, but this newfound backlash to the Scrooge McDucks of the world… stemmed from a moment in time that not everyone necessarily knows about in great detail. But thankfully… we have storytelling to help us understand moments such as these and there’s a film in theatres now… that showcases what started the clap back that the rich are now experiencing and that makes, Dumb Money, an important watch. 

For this is a story that takes us back in time to early 2021, when the world was emerging from the nightmare of the pandemic and when… some rich dude bros were doing their best to be masters of the universe. For they were attempting to short squeeze Game Stop’s stock in an effort to either make the company part of their portfolio or to just enjoy the weird thrill they obtain when toying with stocks and lives… but when it came to this squeeze, they were in for quite the surprise. Because one man on YouTube, Keith Gill, believed that these moves were unfair and unjust. So, he expressed to the world, a need to look past the power grab at hand and believe in the stock and invest in Game Stop. A move that was seemingly harmless, but so many… saw this as a rallying cry. As a chance to perhaps teach the fat cats of the world a lesson… and they most certainly did. For so many purchased Game Stop stock and drove the price up and ruined any plans for the rich to get richer.

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Poster Art from ‘Dumb Money’ Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Which really is the perfect way to explore a critical moment in history, one that deserves more context for the masses. For it when it happened, this was nothing more than a passing post-pandemic moment for us. One that we didn’t give all that much thought to because we’d already lived through a year’s of worth of crazy, and an insurrection. So, this just seemed like a nice little slap for the rich boys of the world. But this movie really does break down the desperation that so many were feeling financially during this period of time, and how the pandemic gave so many a chance to ponder upon life and the way that our world was structured and stand up and say enough. Granted, some may only see this moment in time as a small victory, since of course… the stock market is doing just fine, and every company is still recording record profits while paying their employees peanuts… but it really was something more. 
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It was … the rallying cry in question. It was the spark. One that really has started to burn brighter years later to bring forth demands and unity regarding better wages and wage fairness, and that makes this an important motion picture to say the least. One that finally breaks down the big moment in question and also serves… as an anthem for the everyman and perhaps a reminder that there is a way forward to put an end to such monetary madness in our world. For if by chance the unity we are seeing now, stuck around and made greater demands of the rich and put forth more regulations on them, instead of letting them run wild and free and say… buy a social media network because they don’t like how they’re talked about upon it… we would see real change in the world. The kind that was put on display in that chilly winter and early spring of 2021, when so many people finally said enough and made something special happen on their own. 

If anything, all of those elements make for one supremely engaging motion picture. Courtesy of a magnificent script by Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, that is brisk and intense in all the right ways, some masterful direction from Craig Gillespie who makes stock trading something that we can enjoy on screen and this film also works… because of its cast. For this is a film that features a who’s who of modern actors, and every single one of them bring their A game to the material and sell the moment and address our frustrations, so that when the end credits roll… we feel nothing but satisfaction over how things played out back in ’21 and we also feel… inspired and invigorated. For if a bunch of folks on Reddit and an analyst could freeze the system and bring attention to its shady and unregulated practices… then we can achieve anything and change the world, and you can never go wrong with a movie that sends that kind of message our way. 

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