Review | A Dumb Girl watches ‘Dumb Money’

While the cast might have you swooning, if you aren’t already interested in stocks, ‘Dumb Money’ may feel like having Wall Street mansplained to you on Reddit. Photo collage by SIMRAH AHMAD, Staff Photographer

Would you take serious financial advice from a guy in a tie-dye cat t-shirt?

Admittedly, when the news was coming out about the GameStop stock price surging up to over $500 a share in January 2021, I was not paying attention at all. The 104-minute runtime of this film is more time I have spent thinking about stocks than the rest of my life combined. While “Dumb Money” at times can balance being entertaining and educating for those who aren’t familiar with the GameStop short squeeze, Craig Gillespie’s film feels like having stocks mansplained to you but disguising it with the faces of all the hottest actors you have crushes on.

Keith Gill (Paul Dano) is a father and financial analyst who spends his free time sharing his unfiltered passion for stocks on his YouTube channel Roaring Kitty. When his long-running analysis of GameStop’s stock blows up across social media — causing a buying frenzy from retail/individual traders across the globe — driving Wall Street billionaires like Gabe Plotkin (Seth Rogan) and Robinhood owner Vlad Tenev (Sebastian Stan) bankrupt. Plotkin and Tenev are left wondering why they didn’t pay attention to the “dumb money” — a term used by large investment firms to dismiss small investors — in the first place.

Aside from the major players in the GameStop saga, the film also shows the collateral damage of Gill’s newfound fame on his wife Caroline (Shailene Woodly) and his brother Kevin (Pete Davidson). A few everyman amateur traders with skin in the game are highlighted, like GameStop store employee Marcus (Anthony Ramos), nurse Jenny (America Ferrera) and college couple Harmony (Talia Ryder) and Riri (Myha’la Herrold).

Despite the film’s flaws, “Dumb Money” wins the audience over with its performances. The cast is, without a doubt, stacked with some of the best in Hollywood today, and their talents may have been wasted on a film about the stock market. 

From the cat merchandise to the red sweatband, Dano absolutely disappears into the character. He and Davidson have undeniably hilarious brotherly chemistry. Rogan nails the evil capitalist billionaire archetype on the head. Ferrera delivers a hilarious but touching single mother in extreme debt. This movie is forgettable in many ways, but something I will never forget is Anthony Ramos doing the entire TikTok dance to “Savage” by Megan Thee Stallion at 100% effort in the middle of a GameStop store.

One of the things people were wondering about, post-COVID-19 pandemic, was how it was going to be portrayed in the media going forward. It is fair for people to not want to watch the pandemic on screen because we lived through the intensity of those two years and are still dealing with its impact. “Dumb Money” instead focuses on the effect isolation had on millions of people and how communication through the internet allowed them to build a community of people interested in stocks online. While it doesn’t shy away from characters wearing masks (even the ones who wear them below their noses), it doesn’t pull your attention away from the story at hand or turn this comedy into a serious drama.

“Dumb Money” is a period piece. It will forever be cemented in time, not just because of the Dunkin Donuts ad placement or Megan Thee Stallion song, but because the character Harmony wears the viral Urban Outfitters Modern Love Lace Corset Top (you know the one). Average people with no interest in stock prices will forget about this movie within a year, but for me, a certain scene involving a race around a track that lacks ample clothing will stick in my brain, to say the least. 

The film’s thesis: there was no hope for the little guy in stocks before, but because of Keith Gill and GameStop, maybe now there is. Now answer the question again: Would you take advice from a guy in a tie-dye cat t-shirt? While audience members will likely not have a sudden urge to buy penny stocks and watch YouTubers livestream their balance sheets after leaving the theater, they may choose to pay attention to the little guy for once. 

So, if you dislike billionaires and Wall Street businessmen and want to see some average Americans fight their way for an even playing field in the stock market, this movie may be perfect for you. Even if you aren’t interested in being taught the intricacies of day trading, stay to see Dano and Davidsons' bare behinds on the big screen.