In today’s big story, we’ve got a review of “Dumb Money,” the movie based on the famous GameStop short squeeze of 2021.

• Markets: The US consumer is on shaky ground, and that’s bad news for the economy.
• Tech: A leaked screenshot shows Amazon is keeping tabs on individuals’ office attendance.
• Business: An in-depth look at the plans for a new city proposed by Silicon Valley elites.

More than two years later, we get to see for ourselves.

“Dumb Money,” which opens for a wide release today, navigates the lead-up, peak, and aftermath of the GameStop short-squeeze, which led short-sellers to lose billions of dollars.

Full disclosure: I was critical of how the movie was cast. But I went into a recent viewing wanting to like “Dumb Money.” I’m fascinated by Hollywood’s interpretation of finance, from “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Margin Call” to “The Big Short.”

The movie’s main protagonist is Keith Gill (Paul Dano), who sparked interest in GameStop with Reddit posts and YouTube videos detailing his investment thesis under the pseudonyms “DeepFuckingValue” and “Roaring Kitty.”

(Like I said, the script practically writes itself.)

The film also follows a series of characters — a pair of college students, a nurse, and a GameStop employee — who invest in GameStop along with Gill, hoping to make money and stick it to the Wall Street firms betting against the company.

Their inclusion is a smart device — the GameStop saga was a community-led movement — but feels underutilized. While Gill was the engine of the short squeeze, individual investors fueled him. A piece of the story falls flat without some meaningful development from them.

And then there’s the movie’s antagonists. The depiction of hedge fund managers Ken Griffin (Nick Offerman), Steve Cohen (Vincent D’Onofrio), and Gabe Plotkin (Seth Rogen), whose firms’ GameStop short positions put them in Reddit traders’ crosshairs, came across as too over-the-top and cartoonish.

That’s not a defense of them. God knows they don’t need my help. Griffin reportedly raised hell over his portrayal in the movie.

But if satire was the direction the movie wanted — à la “The Wolf of Wall Street” — it should have pushed harder. Instead, Gill’s stoner brother (Pete Davidson) has to carry the comedy load, but most of his jokes come up short.

What’s left is a somewhat mediocre movie that’s neither too serious nor too funny.

So, to tweak a phrase made famous by Gill: For me, I don’t like the movie.

🔔 Before the opening bell: US futures rise early Friday as investors await the upcoming PCE reading — the Fed’s preferred inflation metric. 

2. The cracks are starting to show in the US consumer. It’s been a key component of keeping the economy afloat, but the ever-resilient US consumer is facing significant pressure. From the student-loan payment restart to soaring gas prices, consumers face an uphill battle.

3. JPMorgan <3 startups. The bank is nabbing Silicon Valley Bank alumni as it grows a team focused on working with startups. This year, it has doubled the head count of the commercial-banking unit focused on young companies. JPMorgan executive Melissa Smith detailed the plan to fill the void left by SVB.

2. Internal memo: Salesforce Chief Trust Officer leaves after less than 18 months on the job. Vikram Rao is the third — and perhaps most high-profile — cybersecurity executive to leave the company within the past year. The chief technology officer of security bounced in February, while an executive vice president departed in November.

3. A leaked screenshot revealed that Amazon is tracking individual employee office attendance records. This is a reversal from its anonymized data policy — and it’s the latest move to force employees back into the office.

2. Insurers and drug-industry middlemen are cashing in on the weight-loss drug frenzy. The drugs — like Ozempic and Wegovy — cost around $1,000 per month. And they’ve been driving up healthcare spending.

3. Leaked memo: Shopify CEO discourages employees from having side hustles. Tobi Lütke said the company requires “unshared attention” and that conflicts of interest could be possible. All employees are soon going to have to fill out a form disclosing side projects or other outside work.

• Carta is suing another former employee to prevent the release of damaging records of its execs and board members.
• Even more companies are blocking OpenAI’s AI web crawler.
• Lululemon laid off 120 employees after announcing a new partnership with Peloton this week.
• GM execs reportedly slammed Ford over its plan to use Chinese battery technology in EVs.
• Without Trump, the Republican primary debates are pointless.
• Here are 17 signs your friendship is toxic.
• These are the 15 most prolific investors backing European startups.
• Michael Gambon, the actor who played Dumbledore in “Harry Potter,” died at 82 years old.

• Happy Mid-Autumn Festival. This day celebrates family reunions and crop harvests. The full moon tonight is named the Harvest Moon and is the fourth successive — as well as final — supermoon of 2023.
• The 2023 Miss USA Pageant will take place in Reno, Nevada at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The 51 women (meet all of them here) will compete for the iconic crown. This year’s event comes after the pageant descended into chaos over the past year after contestants claimed the competition was rigged. Check out a timeline of the drama here.
• RIP Netflix DVDs. It’s the last day of Netflix sending TV show and movie DVDs to its subscribers.
• Earnings today: Carnival and other companies.

Dan DeFrancesco, senior editor and anchor, in New York City. Diamond Naga Siu, senior reporter, in San Diego. Hallam Bullock, editor, in London. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York.

Get in touch

insidertoday@insider.com

To read unlimited articles, subscribe to Insider.