It’s only been a little over two years since the story broke about the short squeeze on GameStop that was caused by a few genius geeks on Reddit. That chaos seemed to really shake up Wall Street quite a bit and I remember it being a hot topic in the news for weeks. It was only a matter of time before studio execs in Hollywood started pitching the dramatized movie version of this stranger than fiction true story. And only a year later director Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya, Lars and the Real Girl, and Disney’s Cruella) was brought on board to direct this dramatized version. And I was very fortunate to be able to catch one of the earliest screenings for this one a few weeks back during my time at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Dumb Money brings not only Gillespie in the director’s chair, but also quite the appealing ensemble cast of many established actors. It is essentially his The Wolf of Wall Street & The Big Short. And while it can’t quite capture the brilliance of those said two films, the final results are still quite entertaining and very amusing. The film’s screenplay co-written by Lauren Schuker Blum & Rebecca Angelo takes a rather conventional approach to the underdog story formula we’ve seen played out in many films before, but it's consistently engaging and fast paced in its storytelling. The film carries some of the frantic energy and humorous tone that Gillespie has been known to establish with his films. But where as previous films such as I, Tonya and even Disney’s Cruella had a darker edge, Dumb Money feels a bit more lighthearted and much more of a crowdpleaser. That’s far from a compliant though, it definitely provides for a breezy and joyous watch that clocks in well under two hours.
The film is being built as an ensemble piece and it does consist of a stellar cast providing plenty of great work. But this does feel like Paul Dano’s movie from beginning to end. He is very much the center piece as Keith Gill who in real life was the mastermind behind this whole Reddit chaos. Dano has been for two decades now one of our most underappreciated character actors largely in amazing supporting roles, but it’s great to finally see a film utilize him more as a leading man because he definitely has the goods. Dano has build such a great resume over the years with his performances that I’m hesitant to say this is one of his best roles ever, but as Gill he brings a very heartfelt and sympathetic performance that lets him shine in the spotlight. A lot of the film’s best comedic moments though honestly comes from Pete Davidson who is very funny as Dano’s wild yet supportive brother. The scenes between Dano & Davidson are actually some of my favorite moments in the film. Other standouts from this includes America Ferrera and Seth Rogen. It’s especially nice seeing Ferrera again after her memorable performance in Barbie just this summer. Nick Offerman is great as maybe the film’s most detestable character and Anthony Ramos does have a nice side story of his own as well.
It isn’t without some faults. For as much as the film is an ensemble piece it does feel like a handful of the supporting cast members take quite the back seat to the film’s leads. For instance you’ve got some pretty heavy supporting players like Vincent D’Onofrio and Sebastian Stan who do have their great moments, but some of the character work does feel just a little thin. It really is Dano’s film all the way through which is definitely a positive thing because he rules, but more time spent with a few characters would’ve been nice. Even Shailene Woodley as Dano’s wife feels a little shafted. I loved how fast pace and breezy this film moves, but I would’ve gladly watch an extra 15-20 minutes. The storytelling is really straightforward and it’s not exactly providing any new insightful that other films tackling similar themes have accomplished. There’s no breaking new grounds with this underdog story and that’s perfectly okay.
But none of those flaws are enough to stop Craig Gillespie’s film from successfully accomplish exactly what it sets out to achieve. And that’s providing quite the entertaining and amusing retelling of a still very recent true story in our history about the little guys that nearly brought Wall Street people to their knees. This dramatized retelling brings some big laughs, sharp direction, and a killer cast all providing really solid work here. I don’t necessarily anticipate this one to be a big awards player this season or even perform as well as Gillespie’s past film I, Tonya did, but it never feels like it’s really aiming for those golden statues either which is actually quite refreshing. The film is currently out in a select number of theaters here in the United States and will continue to expand over the next couple of weeks. It’s definitely you’ll want to get with a group of friends and go check out because it’s a real crowdpleaser.
Final Grade: B