Hulu Crime Thriller With A-List Stars Already Being Forgotten
Sometimes when you cruise the streaming library of one of your favorite services with no real film or television series in mind, you randomly come across gold. For me, this meant stumbling aimlessly upon the 2016 film Money Monster last week, without ever having heard of it before, as far as I can recall. Despite the film being nearly forgotten by general audiences, Money Monster touts an all-star cast, a compelling crime narrative, and direction from a legendary figure in Hollywood (Jodie Foster), making it odd that the film hasn’t made a bigger splash on the cinema landscape.
Monstrous Talent In Money Monster
Money Monster was written by the trio of Jamie Linden, Alan Di Fiore, and legendary screenwriter Jim Kouf. Collectively, these scribes tout writing credits on such classics as Dear John, The Expanse, Rush Hour, and National Treasure. Money Monster was directed by Hollywood mainstay Jodie Foster, who is best known for her work in front of the camera, though she does tout numerous directing credits on both feature films and beloved television series.
One of the things that initially drew me toward the thumbnail for Money Monster on Hulu was the visage of none other than A-list star George Clooney, who stars in the film as television financial expert Lee Gates. Clooney is joined in the cast by Julia Roberts, Jack O’Connell, Dominic West, Caitríona Balfe, Better Call Saul‘s Dennis Boutsikaris, and Giancarlo Esposito, who would still have been riding quite high off his Breaking Bad fame when Money Monster released.
Best Not To Put All Your Eggs In One Basket
The narrative of the film centers on Clooney’s Lee Gates as he prepares to host another exciting edition of his financial television series, which is itself named Money Monster. As the show is in the middle of broadcasting live, a delivery man wanders onto the set, and takes the host hostage with a firearm, shocking the producers and home viewers alike. While on the air, the delivery man reveals that he had invested his entire life savings based on Gates’ advice, and lost it all, leaving him completely destitute.
So Many Unexpected Twists And Turns
As the narrative of Money Monster ventures forward, the gunman pleads with viewers of the show to revolt against the financial institutions which control them, as producers for the show work alongside the police to disarm him, without setting off a bomb vest that the gunman has strapped to Gates’ body. The movie continues taking wild twists and turns through to the very end, so I’ll let you stream it on Hulu if you want to know what happens next.
Surprisingly Not A Major Hit
While the film isn’t necessarily a top 10 movie of all time, I’m still shocked to see just how little fanfare it received upon release. Money Monster is said to have made a decent profit at the box office after premiering at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, even after receiving middling reviews, resulting in a 59 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. A cursory search of the film’s development history reveals that the screenplay topped the 2014 Blacklist for unmade scripts before getting picked up for development, so you’d think it would be a major hit.
Stream Money Monster On Hulu Today
GFR SCORE
At the end of the day, the production of Money Monster goes to demonstrate exactly what the film’s antagonist failed to realize within the narrative. Investments are always a gamble, and there’s no way of knowing which ones will pay off ahead of time, even when they seem like a sure thing. If you’re interested in catching Money Monster today, be sure to stream the film on Hulu.
