Dumb Money captures the internet fanaticism of the GameStop-stock rush almost one year into the pandemic.
It seems the turnaround time for films that are “based on a true story” is getting shorter and shorter. Dumb Money, directed by Craig Gillespie, is a new movie capturing the frenzy of the GameStop stock rush that took place in January 2021, almost a year into the pandemic. Chronicled in Ben Mezrich’s book The Antisocial Network, the film adaptation began production a year later. This raises the question of how they could create a period piece based on such recent events.
My concern was that Dumb Money would feel like a dramatized Wikipedia page, explaining technical details that viewers can easily find with a Google search. This subgenre was popularized by films like Adam McKay’s The Big Short, which featured celebrities explaining economics jargon directly to the audience through comedic scenes. Dumb Money deals with a complex series of events, including a short squeeze caused by a surge in retail investment that threatened hedge funds. Fortunately, the film understands that viewers don’t want to get lost in the details.
Gillespie and screenwriters Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo successfully transport the audience back to the early days of 2021. With people still locked down and businesses closed due to the pandemic, everyone was glued to their cellphones, searching for a distraction. Dumb Money captures the tense atmosphere similar to David Fincher’s The Social Network, another film based on a book by Mezrich that turned a tech tale into a reflection of societal issues.
But Dumb Money is not just a serious drama; it’s an entertaining and energetic escapade that takes aim at the wealthy one percent. It transforms the GameStop saga into a story of ordinary individuals challenging powerful entities. Although the reality is more complex, Gillespie understands that the audience will remember the frustration from being stuck at home for almost a year. The brief moment when a video-game retailer’s stock value became a symbol of amateur American entrepreneurship is encapsulated in Dumb Money.
The film follows Keith Gill (played by Paul Dano), an amateur investor who frequents the Reddit page WallStreetBets, known for its profane memes and questionable investment advice. Gill sees an opportunity when Wall Street shorts GameStop, and instead of joining the bigwigs’ bet on the company’s failure due to the pandemic, he rallies his YouTube followers to buy the stock. This sets off a financial frenzy, albeit short-lived.
The rest of the ensemble in Dumb Money consists of WallStreetBets investors and hedge fund managers reacting to the situation. America Ferrera, Anthony Ramos, and Myha’la Herrold portray individuals who, down on their luck, become part of the online craze. Seth Rogen, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Nick Offerman play the hedge fund managers. Gillespie also injects humor with Pete Davidson’s portrayal of Gill’s charismatic and unconventional younger brother, who serves as a relatable character for the audience.
The majority of Dumb Money unfolds in the online world, inundating the screen with memes, Reddit posts, and silly GIFs, the language of internet culture. This depiction effectively conveys the isolating nature of the experience. Even the wealthy characters are shown in empty mansions and resorts, shouting stock orders into their phones by deserted swimming pools. However, as the plot develops, Gillespie highlights how Gill’s GameStop frenzy created a sense of community, albeit temporary, uniting people with a shared spirit of rebellion against institutions. The network of investors feels like a group of friends, even though they never meet in person.
The audience knows that the craze will inevitably fade away. Dumb Money is not a story of getting rich quick, but rather a glimpse into a unique and fleeting virtual phenomenon. This is why the film’s recent subject matter is forgivable, as stories from the internet can quickly emerge and vanish. What happened two years ago is already ancient history.
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