Dumb Money is a movie about the Reddit GameStop saga – meaning there’s not a lot of sex or violence in the story. This begs the question: why is it rated R? Here’s what you need to know.
As per the official synopsis for director Craig Gillespie’s new film: “Dumb Money is the ultimate David vs. Goliath tale, based on the insane true story of everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (yes, the mall videogame store) into the world’s hottest company.”
Dexerto gave the movie four stars, writing in our review: “Dumb Money is a fun comedy caper for the internet era. But it’s also more than that, offering a thought-provoking exploration of a modern-day financial revolution and celebrating the resilience and resourcefulness of everyday people.”
With the film now out in cinemas, people have been wondering why Dumb Money is rated R, which means anyone under 17 requires an accompanying parent or adult guardian. So, let’s get into it.
Why is Dumb Money rated R?
The reason Dumb Money is rated R is due to “pervasive language, sexual material, and drug use.” In short, there’s a lot of cursing and offensive language, as well as some mild sexual content. We also see brief shots of cocaine and weed use.
As per an evaluation by Kids-In-Mind.com, Dumb Money includes “a kissing scene, two fully nude men running on a track (their genital areas are not evident), many scenes of people arguing and feeling anxious about losing money, a scene of a man smoking marijuana and another of someone snorting cocaine, and over 100 f-words and other strong language.”
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Many memes, jokes, and social media posts from the GameStop retail investor community are plastered across the screen to set the scene and demonstrate to audiences what was being said at that time, some of which feature offensive language, including the r-word and the word “gay” being used in a derogatory way – another reason why the age restriction is bumped up.
Early on in the film, there is also a scene in which University of Texas at Austin student Harmony is dared to put her hands down the pants of fellow student Riri. Later on, Harmony reveals to Riri that a man wants to pay her to take a bubble bath on camera, an idea Riri is enthusiastic about.
Finally, Dumb Money deals with adult themes, including the implication of immoral manipulation, economic struggle, and death. “Several people grieve at a gravesite and we understand that a woman died from Covid-19,” adds Kids-In-Mind.com.
“People are shown anxiously trying to decide whether to continue to hold onto a stock investment or to sell. A few people are shown being served with subpoenas to testify before Congress. People protest outside a building and one person throws what appears to be feces at a man as he enters the building.”
Dumb Money is in cinemas now, and you can check out more of our coverage in the links below: