Dumb Money review: "A Wall Street takedown tale worth investing in"

Its title being a mildly derogatory term concerning individual investors, Dumb Money is a true-life comedy-drama in the mould of The Big Short or The Wolf of Wall Street. Only now the subject is what happens when the day traders fight back.

The story unfolds in 2020, with internet stock prophet Keith Gill (Paul Dano) – aka Roaring Kitty – putting his savings into GameStop, a videogame retailer haemorrhaging money.

Gill believes Wall Street has undervalued the company. His followers on Reddit invest small amounts, among them a Pittsburgh nurse (America Ferrera) and a GameStop employee (Anthony Ramos). And as more pile in, the stock escalates, threatening billionaire hedge funder Gabe Plotkin (Seth Rogen) and others, who had bet on the company’s failure.

Adapting Ben Mezrich’s book The Antisocial Network, director Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya) tells this pandemic-era David-and-Goliath story energetically. There are things to dislike – Pete Davidson as Keith’s brother – but the good far outweighs the bad.

An excellent Dano is supported by a dreamy ensemble, including Shailene Woodley, Sebastian Stan, Nick Offerman, and Vincent D’Onofrio. In another killer turn post-Barbie, Ferrera is the heart of the film as an essential worker who refuses to buckle. A film about belief, it’s also a morality tale, as some – though not all – of the 1% get their comeuppance.

Dumb Money is in US cinemas on September 15 (limited) and September 29 (wide). It hits UK cinemas on September 22.