Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Cinema Clips: Money Monster

Posted By on Wed, May 25, 2016 at 9:00 AM


Director Jodie Foster goes for a 1970s throwback vibe while approaching a modern financial subject in this valiant but messy effort starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts.

Clooney plays Lee Gates, host of Money Monster, a sensationalist financial program that features Gates dancing around the studio and making stock tips. Not all of Gates’ tips are winners, and he’s about to find out about the downside of bad advice. Kyle Budwell (Jack O’Connell) shows up on set as a delivery boy, but he doesn’t have pizzas.

He’s got an explosive vest for Gates to put on, and a gun that says “Don’t turn off the cameras, we are going to be here for a while!” Producer Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts) has to keep the show rolling as her host is held hostage. Kyle lost a lot of dough on a Gates tip, and he’s here to tell us all how we are being suckered by “the Man.” What unfolds is woefully predictable, with Clooney and Roberts laboring to make it all entertaining despite its flatness and many clichés.

Obviously, the cold-hearted Gates will see not only the evil in companies he talks about on the air, but his own clumsiness. His heart will swell for his put-upon captor, and he will join him in solidarity against the evil corporate dictator Walt Camby (Dominic West), who stole Kyle’s money due to a “computer glitch.” O’Connell overacts, and the movie feels dated and worthless, on top of being self-important.

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