Review of The Big Short (2015) by Rob L — 17 Jun 2016

Hedge fund managers conspire to get rich off of the impending 2008 financial crisis.

One of the funniest movies of the year just made me mad - as I suspect was its intention. Exposing the inequities in our financial system and the political machine that supports it, The Big Short fully explains CDOs and other derivatives for the common viewer without talking down to them. While at times the film is heavy-handed (the metonym for the regulatory commissions having heavy sunglasses [she's blind, get it?]) and the film's treatment of women is a little archaic (most of the female characters are "helpers"), when this film is on, it's energetic, insightful, and incredibly well-acted.

Overall, if you had trouble understanding what happened in 2008 or on the stock market, try having Margot Robbie explain it to you from a bathtub.