Money Monster stars George Clooney as Lee Gates, an entertaining, over-the-top financial advisor on television, not unlike Jim Cramer on his show Mad Money. While it looks like the movie and the character drew a lot of inspiration from Cramer's Money show, the Monster movie takes a terrifying twist that Cramer hopes he'll never have to face. During a live broadcast, amateur investor Kyle Budwell (Jack O'Connell) takes over the set holding Gates hostage with a gun. Per standard protocol, the feed is cut by Producer Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts). Once Budwell threatens Gates, Fenn restores the broadcast for the world to see. Budwell lost everything following the advice of Gates, but he believes the conspiracy to rob Americans of their money runs deeper and higher than Gates' TV show.
Money Monster reunites Clooney and Roberts for their fourth collaboration. They first appeared together in Oceans Eleven in 2001 and were together immediately in 2002 with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Though they were back in Oceans Twelve in 2004, Roberts did not return in 2007 for Oceans Thirteen, so it's been twelve years since the two have been on screen together. O'Connell joins them for this conspiracy theory financial thriller. O'Connell recently played the lead in Unbroken in 2014 and was brilliant in his performance, so we don't have to worry about him holding his own with the Clooney Roberts powerhouses.
The preview looks entertaining, thoughtful, provocative and infuriating in a time when we are consistently hearing about the erosion of the middle class while the wealthiest get even wealthier and the middle class that used to be is kicked down closer to poverty level. But this isn't even about Budwell wanting to be a wealthy man, he just wanted to invest and make a better life for himself and his pregnant girlfriend. He loses $60,000, his entire life savings, on a single stock and demands to find out why. Everyone is shocked to see just how far the lies go up the ladder. One of the questions one asks themselves during the preview is, will anyone be held accountable for falsifying the financial information and making out like bandits because of it? Knowing how justice for the wealthy usually works here, one would logically conclude that no one will be held accountable. But, this is a Hollywood film and they aren't bound by how events would actually unfold, so maybe this is a chance for us and Budwell to some long overdue justice.
I'm predicting 3 stars. While it looks entertaining and I think Money Monster will be worth the money either in the theatre or to rent, it looks like one of those that I might watch again on cable, but not go out of my way to see again, nor make it part of my personal collection. Am I right? We shall see.
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