I wasn’t totally convinced I wanted to see this movie but it ended up getting pretty good reviews so I thought I would check it out. It is very reminiscent in both subject matter and tone of The Big Short and The Wolf of Wall Street where the excessive greed and power of Wall Street is depicted in a stylish, comical, entertaining way. I remember hearing about the story of the GameStop stock as it happened very recently but not really knowing any of the details. I also personally know absolutely nothing about the stock market and everything associated with that world and my brain basically shuts off when people talk about it. 

The Big Short does an outstanding job of explaining all the complicated finance jargon in ways the average person can understand. Dumb Money makes somewhat of an effort to do the same, but I still felt mostly lost on a lot of the terms. However, while I didn’t follow every technical point of the plot, I understood the sentiment of the story. The movie, like the real life story, became less about the money and more about the movement as it went on. For many involved, they actually risked their financial gain to be part of a collaborative effort to challenge Wall Street while Wall Street underestimated of the power of social media and the need for community and anything that felt like a win for the “common man” at this period in time (mid 2020 – early 2021). I also felt like my confusion was very reflective of real life as much of that world is made intentionally convoluted and complicated to keep it elite and not just something anyone can be a part of. 

I found this movie very enjoyable and entertaining. I did learn a considerable amount about this particular story and the way some of this stuff works, but I mostly came away with the same lessons about greed and wealth and power that have been told about Wall Street in movies and television time and time again (basically that sometimes they take some hard punches and yet always come out on top in the end. Is that a spoiler or just a life lesson? Sorry if it’s the former!). While it does tread lightly into emotional stakes, the movie is mostly just a fun and interesting watch with a surprisingly all-star cast and I would definitely recommend it!

2023 Count: 25 seasons, 42 movies, 1 special