Jodie Foster directs this film and stays behind the camera on a movie set for the first time in twenty years. She has enlisted George Clooney and Julia Roberts to do her bidding in this crime thriller where a hostage situation develops in a TV studio.
Lee Gates (George Clooney) hosts a financial TV show called “Money Monster”. Gates’ larger than life on-screen persona comments on the stock market and provides investment and trading tips. One of his ‘safe bets’ is a company called IBIS whose CEO, Walt Camby (Dominic West), has an exemplary track record of success. Unfortunately IBIS’ stock value plummets as a result of a computer ‘glitch’ and many investors lose a fortune overnight. For one of them, it’s too much to bear. This is Kyle Budwell (Jack O’Connell) who interrupts the show live on-air and threatens the lives of the whole crew.
This is preceded by a period of character introduction where we meet Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts) who is the director of the ‘Money Monster’ show. Patty and Lee have worked together for years and there is some ‘history’ there, but this is never fully explored. It seems that Patty is planning to leave the show for pastures new at the end of the series.
This is a strong premise for a film and it isn’t long before we reach a stalemate in the studio. This is the most successful part of the film. The tension is very real and at this point you feel that anything could happen. The show is still being broadcast live and now the whole world is tuning in. Patty is calmly directing the show from the booth while her whole team are in peril.
The police bring in a hostage negotiator to no avail so they hatch an ‘extraction’ plan. This is executed with all the tactical acumen of The Keystone Cops, so the action switches to the streets of New York. Here the film takes a farcical turn. The way the crowds of onlookers react feels barely believable. The inept police helplessly look on as the film trudges towards its inevitable showdown.
Meanwhile an investigation on a global scale has been underway to find out the truth about the ‘glitch’. This has been led by Diane Lester (Caitriona Balfe) who is IBIS’ chief communications officer. She has also been trying to find out what her boss has been up to and where he has been during the crisis.
This film promises much early on. The intervention of Kyle’s girlfriend Molly (Emily Meade) adds a further twist to this tense tale, but ultimately the film does not deliver on that promise. The main problem is that apart from George Clooney the rest of the characters are painfully two-dimensional. This meant that I was struggling to care what happened to them. There is humour in the script but overall the film comes across as a socially awkward collision of clichés and superficial posturing.
Julia Roberts in Money Monster
Kyle is enthusiastically angry and swears a lot. Patty is underplayed by Julia Roberts to the point of indifference. Walt is the type of villain you want to boo and hiss at and Diane Lester wears a really nice coat. George Clooney on the other hand is actually given a role that he can get his teeth into and is also given most of the best lines. He carries this film and ensures that the overall experience is largely enjoyable. The only other memorable performance is given by the highly prolific actor Lenny Venito who plays Lenny the cameraman. Lenny is an unwitting hero who gives a heart-warming portrayal of loyalty by hardly saying anything at all, brilliant!
Julia Roberts has limited her film commitments in recent years. I have to confess that I am a fan and her Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for her work in ‘August: Osage County’ a couple of years ago were thoroughly deserved. But she is ‘out there’ again and taking on a lot of work at the moment. She was the only good thing about the tedious and miscast remake of ‘Secret in Their Eyes’. However ‘Money Monster’ and her forthcoming outing with Jennifer Aniston, ‘Mother’s Day’, are not great films. It does look like ‘Wonder’, currently in pre-production, will be a film more worthy of her talents.
I did enjoy ‘Money Monster’ and it’s a must-see for Clooney fans. However, despite a few really satisfying twists, turns and the palpable tension of the first half, I was not gripped for the full ninety minutes. Let’s hope we’re not saying this about our home countries’ football teams over the coming days.
Author: Simon, Norwich store
