Review: Money Monster

George Clooney plays Lee Gates, an over-the-top Jim Cramer-ish host of a New York cable TV finance show who finds himself in a situation that his usual glib humour and charm might not be of service to him. He’s made an enemy of a young man named Kyle (Jack O’Connell) who has snuck on set live on the air with a major grudge against Gates because of some financial advice he gave out that Kyle took and ended up in financial trouble as a result. He lost everything, and holds Gates and one other man entirely responsible for his dire straits. Armed with a gun, he also forces Gates to put on a bomb-strapped vest as he rants about the evils of Wall Street greed and corruption. Watching all of this are not only the cops (headed by Giancarlo Esposito), but Gates’ trusted producer (Julia Roberts) who communicates with him through an ear-piece as everyone tries to resolve this situation as peacefully as possible. A perfectly cast Dominic West plays the elusive, slimy corporate CEO who is the other man Kyle has an issue with.

It was a little depressing to me to see at the end credits of this 2016 flick that the director was one Jodie Foster. I was bitterly disappointed with the film already, but seeing the normally intelligent and discerning Foster at the helm of this thoroughly formulaic and frankly outdated film was an unpleasant surprise. I can see how the idea of working for Jodie Foster (whose “Little Man Tate” is underrated and underseen) would bring in a big-time star like Julia Roberts and their mutual friend George Clooney is in a way no surprise as lead here. However, surely someone had to have read the script by the trio of Jamie Linden (The OK school reunion film “10 Years”), Alan DiFiore (creator of a TV show called “The Bridge”), and veteran Jim Kouf (“The Hidden”, “Stakeout”) and recognised that it was completely ordinary. Well, you’d think so at least. Honestly, this is just a mixture of “Mad City”, “Dog Day Afternoon”, “Phone Booth”, the black comedy “Pass the Ammo”, and a touch of “Network”. In fact the basic plot does tend to lend itself more to satire than tension-filled drama. This is meant to be taken seriously for the most part, and I was seriously unimpressed. Sure, I’m a little surprised that the basic scenario doesn’t happen more often in real-life, especially on some of the C and D-list cable networks. However, this is total formula, and not distinguished in the slightest, not in any way through story, character, tone, direction, or for the most part cast.

George Clooney is perfect casting in the lead and he’s the only reason this one gets the rating it does. Julia Roberts is entirely wasted in a role where she’s basically just there to look concerned for Clooney and occasionally talk in his ear. It’s a borderline reactionary role. Jack O’Connell’s accent didn’t strike me as phony as it has for others, but he otherwise doesn’t terribly impress in a pretty crucial role. He’s bland. It’s also quite a stupid film in some ways, I mean we’re expected to believe that people in Iceland, South Korea, and Seth Effrikah are watching a C-list American stock market cable TV show? This guy’s a poor man’s Donny Deutsch/Jim Cramer at best. For the most part though, I was more annoyed with how flimsy and unoriginal the material is. In order for it to even have a shot at working it either needed to be a short film or an episode of a TV show. With thin and formulaic material and prosaic presentation of said material, this is a pretty big waste of time for all concerned.

What on Earth did anyone see in this material? It’s not even very current. It borderline sucks, to be perfectly honest. No, this one didn’t work for me at all.

Rating: C