No. 77 (2023) DUMB MONEY. Oct. 29th.

 

Film No. 77  (2023)  October 29th.  3:40 PM  EVENT CINEMAS,  Recliner: Cine 2,  Innaloo.

"Man, you've got rich dudes pissing in their pants right now." (Keith's brother Kevin, reveals the gravity of his brother's upbeat view on the stock, Game Stop).

The underdog story is a staple when it comes to attracting audiences to the cinema. Sport is the platform most often in-play for these stories. HOOSIERS is still one of my favs! Here, in relatively recent times, the GameStop short squeeze is played out. Small investors bring big hedge fund companies to their knees; it's a less conventional underdog story but an intriguing one never the less. Director Craig Gillespie (I, TONYA) excels with stories from recent history. 

During the pandemic of early 2021, Gillespie (I,TONIA) watched, first hand, how trading in GameStop (GME) shares caused havoc on Wall Street. His son was part of the small investor "tidal wave" who created the Short Squeeze based on the vlog philosophy of Keith Gill, better known as Roaring Kitty. Gillespie thought it a tale worth telling and considering the actors lining up to work his stories, why wouldn't he?

The film is busy. It's worth having an understanding of what a short squeeze is, before tuning into DUMB MONEY. The portraits of small stock holders who are part of the wave, occupy many scenes, but they never really get fleshed out. We get a sense of what happened, through them, but they remain at arms length. It was a minor frustration for me. The script is tight though, and rarely is a word wasted.   

The real story is held in the hands of Paul Dano (Gill) and Shailene Woodley (Caroline). They play the grounded husband/wife couple who lead us on this adventure. Woodley is particularly credible as the supportive wife. Considering her star profile, DUMB MONEY gives her licence to really show her range. Their family circle, including Pete Davidson as Keith's brother Kevin, bring humour and a real world feel to the phenomenon that was the GameStop Short Squeeze. A very entertaining underdog story.  9GUMS.