The Big Short – big fun

The Big Short unashamedly dumbs things down, to the point where Selena Gomez explains to the camera how collateralized debt obligations work. It’s silly and sometimes a bit too stupid, but fair play to the filmmakers for trying to make people understand something that we all really should understand for our own good.

In 2005 fund manager and market genius Michael Burry (Christian Bale) has a hunch the housing market is going to collapse despite being called an idiot. No one bets against property, until now. Soon he’s followed by a group of other traders including Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt who realise how fickle the system is and bet on it all falling down. They stand to make a lot of money if right, but al at the expense of people’s homes and jobs.

There’s nothing here you want learn from a documentary but let’s be honest, a lot of people couldn’t be bothered watching a documentary. The Big Short gives Alex Gibney the Family Guy treatment resulting in a film that even the biggest idiot will come out of a better person due to learning something. It’s a fun watch with fun characters, with director Adam McKay doing a good job finding the right tone.

It moves fast, is never dull, and when it does all fall down McKay deals with the shift in tone brilliantly. Hopefully this sees the director embark on a new genre of comedies with serious subjects.

3 out of 5