Movie Blog Post: MONEY MONSTER

by Le Anne Lindsay, Editor

Friday the 13th Lucky for Movie-goers:

MONEY MONSTER & A BIGGER SPLASH

By Le Anne Lindsay, Tinsel & Tine Editor

I was really happy with both the movies that opened this past weekend Luca Guadagnino “A Bigger Splash” (See separate post) and Jodie Foster’s “Money Monster”.

Jodi Foster is one of those rare individuals in this business who can take long periods of time off and yet continues to command respect, stays relevant and never loses her ability to find and tell good stories.

“She [Patty played by Julia Roberts] really is the hero of the movie and is able to multi-task and get more done in this crisis than even authorities,” Foster concedes of the rare alpha female on-screen. “She’s producing Clooney’s survival.” And unlike many of Hollywood’s other lifesaving women, Roberts gets to do so without being vacuum-packed into spandex and six-inch heels…  In the original script, Foster says, the character “really just directed the show, so she would say, ‘Go to [camera] one, go to two, go to three.’ You spend a lot of time developing scripts and changing scripts so that the female characters are deeper than they are on the page,” the filmmaker adds nonchalantly, as though this has become a commonplace task throughout her 40-year career. READ MORE – Vanity Fair Money Monster Interview with Jodi Foster

I think Foster also fleshed out the secondary role of Diane Lester (Caitriona Balfe) who plays the right hand and lover of  Wall Street Tycoon, Walt Camby (Dominic West). Once Diane sees the severity of the situation, she goes far beyond the talking points given to her by the other corporate heads, to find out the culpability of Camby and their company.

Quick T&T Synopsis: George Clooney is Lee Gates, a Jim Cramer type even Jim Cramer would think is over the top.  His live cable show uses blaring graphics, hip hop dance routines and hokey props to cover Wall Street, give investment forecasts and generally talk all things stocks and bonds. Gates is not one to stick to the script and often has to be pulled back to topic with a code word given to him by the long suffering Patty Fenn (Roberts) who directs the show.

Jack O’Connell (Unbroken click for T&T post) is Kyle, he appears to be a delivery guy who got lost and wandered onto the set, but turns out to be a disgruntled investor who lost his inheritance – $60,000 gotten from the sales of his mother’s house, because he listened to Lee Gates who said investing with Camby’s company was as good as money in the bank.  Only a “glitch” in the system cost the company and it’s investors 8 million dollars in loses and Kyle’s determined to get more answers – so he takes Gates and the entire show hostage, making Gates wear an explosive vest and making Patti continue to air the show live.

T&T AGREES…
The timing of the film fits the political mood of the season no matter where you are on the spectrum, with characters claiming the system is “rigged” against the little guy and a plot twist that has a character insisting they “do the math.” Foster deftly juggles the thriller elements, the substantive plot points, and the flashes of dark humor that help to relieve the tension without turning it into a comedy. – Daniel M. Kimmel NorthShoreMovies.net

T&T DISAGREES…
If “Money Monster” had come out in 2009, maybe this movie could’ve whipped up some authentic outrage about the finagling and foolishness that led to the financial meltdown in 2008. It lags behind “The Big Short,” last year’s slapstick comedy version of the disaster. – Robert Horton HeraldNet.com

Bottom Line: OK perhaps the movie would have benefited by coming out before The Big Short (click for T&T’s post) but I feel Money Monster can stand on its own as a high stakes game of tension, used to make a social commentary on the current state of Wall Street.  The Big Short is an intellectual overview of how things went down, using ironic humor. Both good, but one need not take away from the other.

T & T’s LAMB (movie bloggers association) Score:4 outta 5

Have you seen this James Corden Carpool Karaoke episode with Gwen Stefani, George Clooney and Julia Roberts?  It’s a good one! (note: video will not be visible to those receiving T&T via RSS Feed)