Dumb Money Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Dumb Money Blu-ray Movie Review

"Babe, we’re like… really f***ing rich..."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown December 15, 2023

Who loves stocks? The proper question is, who doesn't? Amiright? Ha ha, hahaha, ha... ha... ha? You're not raking in millions of dollars each month in your portfolio? Oh. You have no idea how the stock market works? Hm. The most you know about the American financial system came from watching The Big Short? Hoo boy... me too. Okay, we'll take this one a step at a time, like I had to. God bless Wikipedia. First things first, a "short squeeze" is a shady practice in which an investor or investors, known as short-sellers, borrow shares (somehow) and immediately sell them (some other how), hoping to buy them back later at a lower price (a somehow that involves money and know-how). In January 2021, a short squeeze of GameStop stock was triggered by Reddit users on the subreddit r/wallstreetbets. Why? For the hell of it, apparently, all to see what would happen. The result was a nearly 3000% increase of GameStop's stock values, from $17 to $500 per share. (Insert dropped mouth shock emoji here.) I, Tonya and Lars and the Real Girl director Craig Gillespie's Dumb Money introduces us to Keith Gill -- ahem, "Roaring Kitty" -- a middle class financial analyst/schlub who pulls the trigger on a plan that, for a short but wild time in early 2021, sent US financial institutions into disarray and chaos.

'Dumb Money' is the ultimate David vs. Goliath tale, based on the insane true story of everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (yes, the slowly failing shopping mall videogame chain) into the world’s hottest company. In the middle of everything is regular guy Keith Gill (Paul Dano), who starts it all by sinking his life savings into the stock and posting about it. When his social posts start blowing up, so does his life and the lives of everyone following him. As a stock tip becomes a movement, everyone gets rich... until the billionaires fight back, and both sides find their worlds turned upside down. The film also stars Pete Davidson, Vincent D'Onofrio, America Ferrera, Seth Rogen, Sebastian Stan, Nick Offerman, Myha'la Herrold, Anthony Ramos, Clancy Brown, Kate Burton, Shailene Woodley, Talia Ryder, Dane DeHaan and Olivia Thirlby.

Dumb Money's only failing is explaining short sales, stock prices and every other little bit of trivia one hopes to net from a 90-minute Wall Street comedy. It isn't as sharp or as smart as The Big Short, which used hilarious cutaways to explain big concepts. But Dumb Money doesn't need to be super smart. It revels in the first word of its title from Dano on down, and the gold mined is from the huge cast of A and B-listers mugging for the camera, playing everymen and everywomen with a shot at riches (some with principle, some without), all vying to see how far they can push (or break) the system. And Dano kills it (i.e. the Gen-Z definition of "kills it", which my 19-year-old son informs me is a very good thing). Hot off his creepy, scene-swiping turn as The Riddler in The Batman, Dano is in full scenery-chomping mode here, showing his comedy chops and solidifying his place among a small group of actors that can tear up the screen no matter the script or challenge. Joining him is a lineup of people whose sole role in the film is to try to out-Dano Dano, and the results, while certainly the kind of hilarity that will hit for some and miss for others, had me rolling. I laughed out loud so many times during Dumb Money. And I know that's a wholly subjective position to take, and that I'm supposed to provide a critical analysis to justify my impressions, and blah blah blah. All I really know is that Dumb Money is a comedy and it made me bust up too often to be labeled anything less than a good time at the movies.

It's also important to note that at no point does Dumb Money aspire to be the likes of The Big Short or Wall Street. It shares far more in common with The Wolf of Wall Street (if you take Scorsese's delirious fever dream of a biopic and strip away a whole lot of money, several yachts, a Lamborghini, and pile upon pile of cocaine). It's a character comedy, an ensemble treat, and it doesn't really matter if you understand the math, algorithms and particulars of the stock market. All that matters is that you can track the following: 1. Roaring Kitty doesn't have a ton of money, 2. Roaring Kitty figures out a way to game the system and make a lot of money, 3. A whole bunch of Roaring Kitty acolytes and like-minded opportunists join him in making a whole lot of money, and 4. Wall Street, Big Business and hedge funds freak the F out. That's it. Everything else is hot "It" actors of the moment amusing themselves with how many gags they can toss at the camera before it moves onto someone else. So enjoy. It's called "Dumb" Money for a reason. There's smart writing aplenty and a string of memorable appearances with actors who know exactly what they're doing, but it isn't meant to be the next great anything. Just a good time with a crazy true story.

Dumb Money Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Dumb Money was shot with all the 4K latest and greatest, so the only disappointment here is that the film isn't being released in 4K. No need to hold that against Sony's pixel-for-pixel perfect 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation, though. It looks fantastic. Colors are strong and vibrant (even in their teal, amber and orange stylizations), popping properly thanks to lovely contrast leveling. The transfer also preserves a filmic appearance without allowing the image to struggle with black levels, which are suitably deep and inky. Detail is spot on too, with naturally crisp edge definition, refined textures and all the accompanying skin/hair/beard/fabric nuances, and delineation is excellent. Add to that a complete lack of banding, errant noise and other such nonsense and you have a spotless 2023 new release that looks every bit the part.

Dumb Money Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There isn't a lot to Dumb Money's front-heavy DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. It handles everything it's given with ease, although what it's given amounts to a whole lotta talking and some music to set the tone for that same whole lotta talking. Voices are clean, intelligible and nicely grounded in the mix, without anything in the way of prioritization issues. Rear speaker activity is light but present, granting welcome immersiveness to cramped bedrooms, messy living rooms and wherever else our unlikely heroes have their PCs. Outdoor scenes open up but, as you might expect, there are far more of the aforementioned cramped spaces than exteriors. Likewise, LFE output is solid but typically only boasts its wares when the beat drops and the soundtrack calls for hefty low-end support. Is any of that a problem? Nah. Sony's lossless efforts sound great, they're just not attached to a film with ambitious sound design.

Dumb Money Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary - Screenwriters Rebecca Angelo and Lauren Schuker Blum discuss adapting the true story for film, watching it come together through casting and performances with some of their favorite actors and more. It isn't a riveting track but it's breezy and light, and an easy listen.

• Fat Cats Vs. The Roaring Kitty (HD, 8 minutes) - A standard behind-the-scenes EPK featurette.

• Diamond Hand Ensemble (HD, 6 minutes) - Casting the stars of the film.

• Deleted Scenes (HD, 3 minutes) - Three brief deleted and extended bits left on the cutting room floor include "Locked Out", "To the Moon" and "Brad and Marcos Dance".

Dumb Money Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I keep saying Dumb Money's comedy lives up to the "dumb" in its name. But that isn't really fair. Everyone here is playing dumb, and that's why it works. The film delivers the laughs, but only thanks to a cast of smart actors, some smart screenwriting and Craig Gillespie's smart direction. Sony's Blu-ray release is a smart one too. Perfect video, solid audio and a decent package of extras. Recommended, if for nothing else, Dano's hilarious performance and his supporting cast's comedy chops.