If you were alive in the 90s, you knew. Beanie Babies were beyond all the rage—an absolute juggernaut of retail mania, before it evaporated just as quickly as it came. It stands to reason, then, that a movie about the uber-fad would be a fascinating tale of capitalism and greed and shortsightedness, but co-directors Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash clearly have too much on their plate from the outset. Told through the eyes of the three women at the center of it all (played by Sarah Snook, Elizabeth Banks, and Geraldine Viswanathan), the film barely skims the surface of what history has shown us was a complicated and fascinating tale. Zach Galifianakis does fine work as Beanie creator Ty Warner, but the balance of the film feels like a quirky TV movie as fluffy and forgettable as those cute understuffed toys.
2.5/5 stars