“Dumb Money”

8.2

“Run through lightning with your dick out.”

Of course a line from Pete Davidson, but also a perfect encapsulation of the film.

Strong “The Big Short” vibes with this one, with a dash of the brilliant Mark Twain quote “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often does rhyme.”

The film itself is perfectly made. A flawless snapshot of the moment. That all consuming insanity that preoccupied so many at the height of the pandemic. The crusade that pulled back the veil on a pillar of our American society and started a financial revolution.

The cast was immaculate and the script translated to the screen with just the right pace. It doesn’t spoon feed the viewer, but keeps you balanced between informed and entertained. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but packs the punch of an Oscar contender in message delivered.

The ending is complicated, as are most great stories. Life is sometimes best lived in the gray. The excitement of the complicated nature of it all.

Veering off my normal path, it coincided quite well with my recent reading (shocker, I don’t just watch things) “The Creature From Jekyll Island.” (Linked below) Sadly, the themes of picking winners and losers and hidden puppet masters and the world revolving around money resonated from the page to the big screen with this one-two punch. I highly recommend both, but will warn that neither is for the faint of heart.

What can I say? I like the film.

The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve https://a.co/d/eXiEbEs