Review of Money Monster (2016) by Matt C — 14 Jun 2016

In terms of its release, Money Monster is well time. It hit theaters as the presidential primaries were coming to an end, and while this film isn't particularly political in the traditional sense, its socioeconomic themes are very relevant today, with the root of virtually every discussion in politics and personal lives being money.

The film zeroes in on the anger of the situations from the perspective of the one percent and ninety-nine percent being put head-to-head, and it taps into the anger that most Americans face in an interesting manner.

But as the movie progresses, it gets increasingly messy. Lee Gates (George Clooney) is the hose of financial television show Money Monster, which is basically a fictionalized version of Jim Cramer's Mad Money.

During a live broadcast, a viewer (Jack O'Connell) takes over their studio after he blames the show's tips on his losing $80,000, forcing Gates and his director Patty (Julia Roberts) to have to calm him down.

It's a rather extreme premise in a way, inherently because of the terroristic nature of its content, but at its core, it's a standoff between the privileged and middle-class. The film does a good job at portraying of the excess and arrogance of Clooney's character in act one in an often comedic way, and when the movie shifts into thriller mode, Jodie Foster's direction establishes the tension and keeps it tight for the most part.

Throughout the first half, this sense of danger is coupled with social commentary that remains more objective than one would expect. Obviously it has an agenda, but both Clooney and O'Connell's characters' wants and decisions are understandable from an emotional perspective.

It mostly--and rightfully so--leaves rationality out of it, since acting rational here wouldn't have much entertainment value. The way that it plays between who to sympathize with is also interest--the man in debt holding up a studio or the people on Wall Street more or less taking his money? These are all interesting ideas, and the movie deals with them well for a while.

The issues with the film arise around the midpoint when the movie either flirts with an idea and then abandons it for what it's already saying, or falls down a rabbit hole, its story becoming less and less focused.

Regarding the former, there's a moment where the movie points out how much the world hates Clooney's character, but they ditch that in order to go back to the more high-concept thriller aspects.

In terms of the latter--without spoiling anything--the movie seems to have more themes than story so as the movie progresses, the sloppiness of what was once a tight movie becomes more apparent. There are also a few moments, one in particular, that feel kind of cheap or outlandish, and its attempts at comic relief throughout tend to be poorly executed and at the wrong time.

There also isn't much of a resolution, and it doesn't feel like that was intentional. For the first half, Money Monster is effective in what it tries to do. It's a thriller that entertains and thrills, modestly so, without pretending to be some sort of ideological breakthrough.

Once the midpoint comes, it starts to lose focus, almost as if it's trying to catch up with itself by upping the ante, unnecessarily so. A slight majority of it works solidly and the rest falls victim to diminishing returns, even with a 98-minute runtime.

But it's nice to see an entertaining movie with a brain--when it works, though. Ultimately, it's forgettable. 6.3/10, okay, one thumb down, average, etc.