Here’s a film that is among the rarest of rare- a documentary that might make you smile. Isn’t the point of documentaries to teach you something (which will far-more-often-than-not make you unhappy)? Yes. Yes, it is. But here’s a dedication to the small–timers who beat the bullies on Wall Street, even though –and this continues to be true- the bullies have all the money and don’t play fair.
GameStop was another company that seemed on its way out. In fact, it is still on its way out. GameStop is a chain of stores often occupying mall space that primarily sells video games. In an age where videogames are downloaded from the internet, the middle-man services of GameStop are largely unneeded. It’s like if farmers figured out how to transport corn directly to your stomach – what good would supermarkets be?
A few years ago, GameStop announced it was closing several stores, reflecting this change. Many of their customers were no longer seeking physical GameStop stores for their gaming needs. Large Wall Street investors (who as I understand it were already displeased with the GameStop business model) were excitedly bullish about the idea of betting against the company. There are certain people who make a lot of money betting on companies to fail. We call them “assholes.” It’s not just that they bet against companies; if they’re powerful enough, they can actually cause a company to tank by themselves.
This was the plan for GameStop.
The bullies would do their destructive magic; the company would dissolve, and everybody would be happy. And by “everybody,” I mean the dozens or so grim reapers whose profit is schadenfreude (and vice versa). But GameStop had something the short-selling demons didn’t account for: a loyal following. The assholes were wrong and beaten at their own game. And this documentary with a neverending soundtrack tells you how GameStop and its endearing fanbase survived… or should I say “got another life.”
I like the theory of this documentary a lot more than the execution. Aside from the soundtrack, I don’t think the producers did anything wrong, per se. And it was even sorta clever how all their heroes were made into animated video game avatars for fun. Some of the stories are co
mpelling (like Jenn Kruza, a GameStop loyalist who discovered breast cancer during the pandemic); many others are not quite the winners the film thinks they are. While I’m certainly apt to root for the little bully over the big bully, they were/are little bullies. The biggest difference I saw between those we rooted for and those we rooted against in the film was $$$ and nothing else. Not hard work, not morality, not appeal.
Now that our heroes are millionaires, could I see any of them shorting another company in the future? Maybe shorting a waning company that made children happy once upon a time and thus has an inherent fanbase willing to go to the mat for it regardless of how naïve and myopic its business plan? Honey, I could see ALL of them shorting that company.
I like this story for what it is, but don’t tell me the players in Gamestop: Rise of the Players are any nobler than any other set of investors. You’re all in it for the money, because of course you are – if you’re not family or don’t owe somebody somewhere, why else would you invest in a company?
GameStop needed a four-leaf clover
As bullies held its feet to the stove, or
Bet against winning
But fans from the beginning
Made sure that it wasn’t GAME OVER
Not Rated, 94 Minutes
Director: Jonah Tulis
Writer: Sega Nintendo
Genre: Monetizing your childhood
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Small time investors
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Pocketbook bullies
