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 mall video game store) 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.

For in-depth thoughts on Dumb Money, please see my colleague Brandon Lewis’s review from its original festival debut here.

Video Quality

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment brings Dumb Money to Blu-Ray with a stellar 1080p video presentation that captures this movie perfectly. The image is crisp and clear with a subdued color palette full of depth. The film occasionally allows for some bold splashes of colors within the clothing, production design, and setting, but largely this film has an overcast aesthetic. Black levels are strong with no obvious instances of digital noise or crush, and highlights are likewise firm with no blooming in sight. The presentation delivers depth in the interior shots and when out in the open air. The production design along with the facets of clothing provide welcome textural details. The flesh tones remain natural with an excellent amount of detail present in close-ups. This Blu-Ray maintains the high level of quality you expect from Sony.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with a solid DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that deftly realizes the sonic ambitions of the story. The dialogue emanates flawlessly without being drowned out by any competing sounds. There are propulsive moments within this mostly action-free feature that effectively call upon the surround speakers. When the characters are walking through public spaces, some nice ambient details flesh out the setting. The film provides a fun soundtrack in which every tune confidently radiates from the speakers. The low end of the track adds some texture without stealing focus. The audio track is a fantastic presentation for this feature in all respects. There are optional English, English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Writers & Executive Producers Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo provide an entertaining commentary track in which they discuss their ideas behind various moments in the film and how closely they resemble actual events.

Fat Cats & The Roaring Kitty: An eight-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss the ideas and events behind the film, wealth disparity, the characters at the center of this ordeal, and more.

Diamond Hand Ensemble: A six-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss the facets and dynamics of the characters, the performers playing them, the unique shooting dynamics, and more.

Deleted & Extended Scenes: There are three scenes totaling three minutes provided here that did not make the final cut and are worth a watch.

Previews

Final Thoughts

Dumb Money is a deliriously entertaining look at a stranger-than-fiction modern financial story that gets a bit of the Hollywood gloss without sacrificing the grit and heart of the story. The way these types of stories have been approached over the past decade or so has settled into a similar style, but this particular outing avoids most of the more obnoxious tendencies. This is achieved through a combination of a smart script and thoughtful performances from the ensemble, especially an always-terrific Paul Dano. The film hits a few narrative snags along the way, but overall this is one of the more unfortunately overlooked films of the year. Sony Pictures has provided a Blu-Ray disc that sports a great A/V presentation and a nice assortment of supplements for those who do decide to check it out. Give this one a shot if you missed it in theaters. Recommended

Dumb Money is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.