DUMB MONEY : Spoiler free review
Here is a spoiler free review of new release Dumb Money (September 2023). The film tells the story of Keith Gill and the GameStop stock saga during the pandemic. You can listen to all episodes of Just Films & That wherever you get your podcasts.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 Hi everyone, Alice Oliver here from Just Films and That and Local TV. Now I know usually I specialise in underrated and underseen films,
00:07 but sometimes we like to take a look at a new release. So today we're having a look at Dumb Money.
00:12 The film chronicles the GameStop short squeeze of 2021, which you might remember.
00:18 This will be a spoiler-free review, but this is based on actual events, so there's probably not even that much for me to spoil anyway.
00:24 It's a biographical comedy drama starring Paul Dano, Sebastian Stan, Nick Offerman, Seth Rogen, Pete Davidson, America Ferreira,
00:30 Shailene Woodley and a few other people that you're going to recognise.
00:33 Just a quick note, if I do look and sound a bit different, that's because the other day I got braces.
00:37 I'm 34 years old.
00:39 So as always in this review, I'll start with talking about the things that I did like about the film,
00:43 things that I didn't like as much or that I would change, and then we'll take a look at the critical reception.
00:47 What did I like about this film? Well, I really like films that are based on actual events, and I like films about the stock market.
00:53 I think a lot of the appeal and the allure of this film as well is the recency of these events.
00:57 So this focuses on a period of time from sort of mid-2020 into early 2021.
01:03 And I think the story being so fresh in people's minds really adds to the intrigue and the appeal and the allure of the film,
01:08 and it was probably a big reason of why I was so keen to go and see it as well.
01:11 So there's a lot of characters in this, and a lot of the character introductions are really strong.
01:16 The film obviously wants you to feel a lot about these people, whether they're the good guys or the bad guys of the story, very quickly.
01:21 And I think it's really successful in doing that. A good script, some good editing and good camera work,
01:26 but especially some terrific performances really help you engage with these characters really quickly,
01:31 and I think that's really important with this story.
01:33 You follow so many different characters and what their relationship to this whole ordeal was, and what their relationship to GameStop is.
01:38 They all feel equally compelling, and you either find yourself rooting for these people or hoping for their downfall.
01:44 A huge star of this was the soundtrack.
01:46 So not only were the songs themselves terrific choices, but the way they used the soundtrack was really impressive and really engaging.
01:53 There's a real skill, and I've said this before, about knowing how and when to use your soundtrack.
01:57 You can't just bombard people with song after song if it doesn't really make sense with the flow and the narrative and the mood that the film's giving off.
02:04 But this just absolutely nailed it.
02:06 And something that I'm a sucker for as well is when a song will flow from being diegetic into non-diegetic and then being diegetic again.
02:12 There was a lot of that going on in this film, and I really enjoyed it personally.
02:15 There's great use of archive footage in this as well.
02:17 Lots of news reports and interviews and stuff that went on on TikTok or Twitch or whatever it was.
02:22 And these are integrated really well in the film, and again, make that story just a bit more engaging and a bit more compelling.
02:27 As for things maybe I didn't like, I don't think there was really anything that I didn't like per se.
02:32 But there could be an argument that sometimes the energy did drop a little bit, and maybe the momentum slowed down,
02:37 and there were moments that maybe felt a bit too quiet or a bit too slow.
02:41 But then they would rectify this by bringing in a really strong song and then bringing that energy back up again.
02:46 Another thing as well, as is the case I've found a lot with films that are based on true events,
02:50 there is a bit of exposition dumping in there.
02:52 Because this story had a lot of breadth and depth to it, you want to get all that information out there
02:57 and make it clear why certain characters are doing certain things or why they are in specific places.
03:01 How did they get there? Why are they there? Etc.
03:03 It wasn't too often and it wasn't too much.
03:05 I would say on the whole the script did feel quite authentic and like genuine conversation.
03:09 So at the time of recording, it's September 23rd, and over on IMDb the film gets a 7.1 out of 10.
03:15 And then over on Rotten Tomatoes the critics give it 84% and there is no audience score yet.
03:20 So, I would probably say that critic score of 84% is about right for me.
03:25 I think the IMDb score is a little bit low.
03:27 So when weighing up those two scores, a 7.1 and an 84%, I would probably say that's a little bit underrated.
03:33 Well that's good that this ended up fitting into the concept of the podcast.
03:36 Well that was what I thought about "Dumb Money". What did you think about "Dumb Money"?
03:39 We'll be back with Just Films and that and Local TV very soon talking about all our favourite underrated and underseen films.
03:45 With the occasional new release dropped in there as well.
03:47 See you later!