Paramount certainly has a lot of confidence in “The Big Short.” It’s a financial drama with a superstar cast and which was suddenly dated for an awards season release last month and nabbed a world premiere slot at the AFI Film Festival. Its scheduled release is understandable for several reasons, number one being Paramount has no other Oscar hopeful this season. Then there’s the cast, with the A-list team of Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling working under the direction of Adam McKay‘s (“Anchorman,” “Talladega Nights”) —it’s his first foray into making Movies For Adults.
McKay’s been yearning to get serious for several years now —his social media presence is full of political outrage and “The Other Guys” concerned white collar crime. This film is adapted from acclaimed author Michael Lewis’ investigative book of the same name —here’s the official synopsis:
When four outsiders saw what the big banks, media and government refused to, the global collapse of the economy, they had an idea: The Big Short. Their bold investment leads them into the dark underbelly of modern banking where they must question everyone and everything. Based on the true story and best-selling book by Michael Lewis (The Blind Side, Moneyball), and directed by Adam Mckay (Anchorman, Step Brothers) The Big Short stars Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt.
Co-starring Melissa Leo, Hamish Linklater, John Magaro, Rafe Spall, Jeremy Strong and Marisa Tomei, “The Big Short” opens on December 11th in limited release and goes nationwide on December 23rd.
I agree with Dave. This movie seems so smug and ill-conceived. It feels like McKay\’s in love with these characters, and thinks they\’re the coolest guys ever because they say his funny lines and \’take on\’ big business, and we should just like them because of that. However it neglects the fact that they\’re not heroes in any sense. For us normal people, a movie about clever rich people who make money from other clever rich people while spitting out \’funny\’ lines just isn\’t attractive. Who wants to see that? How will any of us, in any way relate to it? It\’s like Judd Apatow\’s movies about rich people having rich people problems (my house is only worth $1.4m! How on earth can I run my edgy record label?!). Right, rant over. Oh wait, not yet – I\’ll happily explain to you the difference between stupid and illegal if you really need it mapped out.
This trailer is hilarious. The movie\’s concept is that these men were someone "standing up for the little guy"? LOL, they were exploiting a market situation, like any other trader. They were just smart, not some kind of crusaders.