Skirting around the impact of social media and dodging between the pandemic and the financial crisis, Dumb Money recently hit theatres. I, Tanny’s director Craig Gillespie has conjured the film. It chronicles the life story of a financial analyst, YouTuber and Reddit influencer, Keith Gill (Paul Dano). When Gill’s analysis of a flailing video game company, GameStop, becomes a trending topic on social media, the entire stock market of the United States is left shuddering. The deteriorating share market value of the company instantly skyrockets. And catapults giant investors and agencies such as Wall Street into a dilemma.
The Oscar-nominated Dano has rendered millions of streamers gasping for air with his on-point comic timing. Moreover, the screenplay writers, Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, have artistically adapted Ben Mezrich’s The Antisocial Network into a compelling drama. Naturally, you, too, are caught in the web of this hilarious biographical drama. If you, too, are on the quest for movies like Dumb Money, search no more!
7. Mixed By Erry
Though not necessarily similar to Dumb Money in its core format, Sydney Sibilia’s Mixed By Erry explores the same moral concepts as the eponymous movie. Starring Luigi D’Orian, Giuseppe and Emanuele Palumbo in the lead roles as the Fratassio brothers–Enrico “Erry”, Peppe and Angelo–the 90s style film is an Italian drama. It is centred around the enthralling universe of piracy, ambition and financial prowess. It explores the lucrative universe of music. And unveils how mixed tapes–now playlists offered by wizards such as Spotify–altered the lives of three brothers.
While the films might not necessarily tread the same trope, they share a central theme: an unyielding passion of the protagonists for making it to the big leagues. Both, Dumb Money and Mixed By Erry, take the unusual route. Both films portray a minimalistic storyline and are inspired by real-life events. Keith might be a financial analyst at his core. But his passion for passive income has led him down the rabbit hole of crime and forgery. Similarly, Erry is a naive music geek, who becomes the pioneer of piracy in Italy and soon finds himself at a crossroads with the government and judiciary system. This Netflix thriller, while being a semi-biographical drama, delivers what’s easily described as a tale warped in real-life nuances.
6. Wall Street
Revolving around a Wall Street wizard, Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), the Disney+ Hotstar hosted film artistically portrays the conceited cobweb of power, status and greed. The Oliver Stone directorial chronicles Fox’s journey as a low-key broker who finds himself entangled in the enticing world of the stock market. What follows is a hilarious ride, fueled by overwhelming emotions and the drive for imminent success.
Dumb Money and Wall Street draw a parallel due to their graphic portrayal of the dark underbelly of the stock market universe. Both films address the misconception of overnight success and weaves a tapestry of heartfelt and impactful directive. Wall Street stands as a firm advocate of the enticing lure that is the finance domain. The film tries to explore the price of getting entangled in the eponymous world. It is due to this approach of the 1987 film that it is hailed as a kaleidoscopic reflection of human greed and corporate espionage.
5. Cosmopolis
Dumb Money stands as a reflection on the intricacies of the financial world. The pivotal reason behind it is the film’s focus on exploring the domain of wealth and power. David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis tries to unravel the same genres and concepts through the lens of an asset manager, Eric Packer (Robert Pattinson). The film chronicles Eric’s journey of wandering through New York City and weaving through the labyrinth of wealth, luxury, and success. It explores the impact of it all on the essence of life and ethics.
Both Dumb Money and Cosmopolis tread the fine line between the need for money and obsession with it. Though Eric and Keith have contradicting opinions on wealth and the finance industry, their journey intersects due to the struggle endured. The films contribute to the decades-long–or maybe, centuries–debate between opulence and obligation and try to leave a lasting impact on the viewers. Cosmopolis, hosted by Amazon, walks on the same route as the eponymous film. It doesn’t make light of the thorns–namely, greed and overambition–it encounters and delivers a truly immersive tale.
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4. The Forecaster
True to its name, The Forecaster, revolves around an economist, Martin Armstrong, who juggles his time between predicting the latest economic trends for his job and for his social media audience. The Marcus Vetter directorial chronicles Armstrong’s tale of garnering an extensive fan following with the aid of his predictive financial models. According to Martin, his models can efficiently forecast economic trends and help people with little to no knowledge of the market invest successfully. What begins as a passion project soon becomes a nightmare for Armstrong as he goes from being an economist to a prisoner due to his Ponzi scheme.
The 2014 film draws a close resemblance to Dumb Money in its genre and storyline. Similar to the eponymous film, The Forecaster explores the real-life stories of people who predicted the future and transformed their hereafter bleak. The film addresses the deep-infused greed amongst humans and our mindset of relying on intuitions and predictions to carry on with a life-changing decision. It carefully strays away from over-emphasizing the moral lesson one could derive from Martin’s tale yet subtly reverberates its message throughout its runtime.
3. Boiler Room
Thematically a thriller centred around a college dropout, Seth Davis, Boiler Room also tries to explore the psychological and adventure genres. It chronicles the tale of Davis, a young fish in the murky waters of the stock market. Seth is oblivious to the fact that there is no shortcut to success and the way to financial freedom is paved with prickly thorns. However, he soon realizes these facts as he finds himself immersed in the tarnished world of stock trading.
Boiler Room spans the same trajectory as Dumb Money. It portrays a tale best described as a reflection of greed and the over-accomplishing nature of humans. Giovanni Ribisi portrays Seth, under the guidance of Bleed For This’ director Ben Younger. He delivers a gripping tale set in the backdrop of emotional turmoil. Boiler Room treads the fine line between aspiration and obsession. The 2000 film, hosted by Prime Video, addresses the dilemma of pursuing one’s dream by stomping over his/her morals
2. The Bank
Three Dollars’ Robert Connoly paints a stark picture of ambitious drive and the ethical impasse that arose due to the same in his film, The Bank. Hosted by Plex TV, the film accounts for the tale of Jim Doyle (David Wenham), a bank clerk, who immerses himself in the intricate web of the stock market. Due to his extensive interest in the field, Doyle explores the current trends and ends up discovering a mathematical formula to predict the stock market. He gets entangled in the latticework of financial pursuit and moral values. He becomes the mastermind behind what is only defined as a revolutionary concept.
Similar to Keith, Jim finds himself drawn to the enticing domain of finance. He ends up discovering a model to predict futuristic trends. However, both of their ingenious prototypes end up paving the way towards the darker underbelly of the finance sector instead of a successful future. The Bank and Dumb Money, both explore the catastrophic outcome of a get-rich-quick model that ends up swallowing basic human morale.
1. Equity
The 2001 film, Equity wrestles between moral predicament and thirst for power and projects Naomi Bishop’s (Anna Gunn) tale. A flourishing investment banker, Naomi, has a glimmering future ahead of her, which she tarnishes due to her hunger for financial security. As Bishop deals with gender bias and pressure instilled upon her by her own ambitions and overthinking mind, she loses sight of her morals. As a result, she finds herself tackling ethical quandaries and emotional torment.
Both Equity and Dumb Money chronicle the tale of ambition-influenced decisions. And unveils the lasting–and often blemishing–impact they have on the world. Meera Menon carefully explores the gender bias faced by women in the finance sector. She delivers a knockout tale fueled by intense emotions. It is currently hosted by Amazon and available for you to rent or buy.
7 Movies Like Dumb Money: FAQs
Directed by Craig Gillespie, Dumb Money is a comedy thriller centred around a financial analyst, Keith Gill. The film chronicles how his prediction of GameStop’s stocks raises havoc in the finance domain and the aftermath of it.
Craig Gillespie directs the film.
Yes, The Bank is conceptually similar to Dumb Money. It explores the same concept of predicting the stock market and yearning for financial analysis.
It is a thriller centred around an asset manager, Eric Parker. He finds himself drawn to the immersive web of luxury and has to endure the darkness that arrives with such aspirations. Cosmopolis challenges the paradigm of the world and human ambitions.
Yes, there is a trailer available for Dumb Money.
Currently, Dumb Money is available in theatres. Any streaming platform is yet to license it.
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