Money Monster

is one of those movies whose trailers tell the whole story.  You watch the first trailer, and you know the plot.  The question becomes not, "What will happen?", but rather, "Will the ride be fun?"

I'm happy to report that in this case the answer is, yes, it is a very fun ride indeed.

Director Jodie Foster and the team of writers have turned what could have been a preachy agenda film into a velocity exercise (with some preachy bits).  By rarely slowing, the story involves us and only occasionally forces us to consider how very silly the underlying key event is.

The key actors--George Clooney, Julia Roberts, and Jack O'Connell--are all in fine form and turn in strong performances.  The players in lesser roles are also uniformly good.

In addition to the pacing, what really makes the film are its grace notes, scenes that could have gone conventionally but that instead have a bit of an odd edge to them. The one involving O'Connell's girlfriend is the best example; I won't spoil it for you by saying more.

Nothing about this movie is realistic, and it wears its politics openly, but it's still a fun ride.  I left the theater quite happy to have seen it.

Check it out.