In January 2021, retail investors posting on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit rallied behind the nearly bankrupt GameStop video game retail chain, blindsiding professional and institutional brokers who had wagered against it. Their efforts would cost Melvin Capital – which first put GameStop in the short position – $6.8 billion and would culminate in House Financial Services Committee hearings in Washington. It’s the stuff of legend.
The saga has already spawned multiple documentaries and docuseries, including one each at Netflix, Max and Hulu. “Dumb Money,” the first dramatic take that had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, came together in an impressively short time, arriving while national headlines are still fresh in our collective memory.