PORTLAND, Maine — [Editor's note: This article is a critical analysis of a film and does not represent the views of NEWS CENTER Maine, but that of the author.]
During the pandemic, one stock made major news with how high it soared after being expected to fail. It was all thanks to retail investors led by one man in Massachusetts.
Thanks to his social media posts and constant investment in Gamestop, the stock caught the attention of other small investors who drove the price up to record highs, and "Dumb Money" follows that story based on actual events.
Story
The film opens during the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020. A Massachusetts man named Keith Gill (Paul Dano) works as a financial analyst and makes videos about stocks in his spare time, posting them to social media sites like Reddit.
After years of research, Keith decides to invest his family's savings into Gamestop stock, a move he's derided for by everyone except his spouse.
Pete Davidson plays Keith's brother, Kevin, and constantly insults him for being a nerd. But to everyone's surprise, Gamestop's stock value starts to rise. And people who watch Keith's videos start to buy in with what little money they have.
"Dumb Money" cuts to scenes showing a nurse, two college students, and even a Gamestop employee buying the stock and riding it through all the ups and downs because they believe in Keith's vision.
Meanwhile, an investment firm called Melvin Capital, led by a man named Gabe Plotkin (Seth Rogen), is betting against Gamestop. His company (and others) are short-selling the Gamestop stock in hopes it'll fail.
But as more casual investors led by Keith continue to buy Gamestop stock and hold onto it, the value skyrockets, causing Melvin Capital to lose billions of dollars.
Eventually, Keith, Gabe, and others involved in the Gamestop stock rise are summoned to testify before Congress and explain themselves, and Keith has to give an account of his actions with the American public watching.
Analysis
"Dumb Money" is a finance term used to describe casual investors like several of the ones featured in this film. Of course, the movie is anything but dumb. It's actually a perfect time capsule for the pandemic and captures the culture of isolation at the time.
Americans were looking for any scrap of new information to distract them from their isolation, and news of the Gamestop stock increase, along with all the accompanying memes, became one such distraction. "Dumb Money" perfectly reflected that.
It's an underdog story about the little people taking on billionaires and actually doing some damage.
Dano's performance is what makes this movie so great. He blends into the character and seamlessly becomes an analyst who wears cat sweaters and posts memes about the stock he finds interesting. But he's also contending with the death of a sister and a world betting against his crazy play. He shared great brotherly chemistry with Davidson, who is the perfect scumbag in this movie.
Another thing "Dumb Money" does well is explaining the financial moves without making the audience feel stupid or getting too lost in the weeds. Everyone who watches the movie will come away feeling like they know at least a little bit about the stock market.
It's actually a marvel to see an entire film come together and get made in the two years since all this happened.
"Dumb Money" is smartly edited, has a killer soundtrack to complement the vibe, and is packed with funny moments as viewers witness this financial shakeup from the perspective of the rich, the poor, and the guy on a mission to save Gamestop.
The ending comes a bit suddenly and will probably leave audiences shaking their heads, asking, "Oh. . . that's it?" And with an ensemble cast, it's a little disappointing that Nick Offerman didn't get as much screen time. "Parks and Rec" fans may frown at that.
Otherwise, "Dumb Money" is a surprise success story that perfectly captures pandemic life as Americans tuned in every day to see what was new with a stock hedge funds were counting on to fail.
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