Ben McKenzie wants you to know ‘Everyone Is Lying to You for Money’

As the documentary, “Everyone is Lying to You for Money” repeatedly reminds us, you may know Ben McKenzie from his function as Ryan Atwood on the Aughts collection, “The OC” Despite transferring on to exhibits like “Gotham” and “Southland,” McKenzie will perpetually be acknowledged as Ryan. Never thoughts that he is been a cryptocurrency skeptic for fairly a while now, testifying earlier than Congress and co-writing a ebook, “Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud,” about a number of burst crypto bubbles.

With this entertaining, humorous, and informative film, McKenzie can add documentary filmmaker to his CV. I doubt it should persuade anybody who has purchased into the legends of cryptocurrency to change their outlook, however skeptics will certainly get a kick out of this three yr journey, which began throughout the pandemic in 2020.

“The story of money is one of the oldest and most powerful stories ever told,” McKenzie tells us in his opening narration, “one that’s still being written today.” He makes use of the idea of a narrative as his thesis, or somewhat, his rationalization for what cryptocurrency is. To him, it is a story advised by scammers who persuade their influencer minions to unfold the gospel. The preliminary carrot dangled in entrance of a possible investor is the correct notion that our banking and monetary techniques are flawed. The element that will get disregarded is that, flawed or not, these techniques nonetheless work higher than a code-based funding plan.

McKenzie reveals that he was launched to bitcoin by his faculty buddy, Dave. Dave was beforehand accountable for giving him “the worst financial advice” he ever obtained: McKenzie put his cash in a bunch of inventory from a medical firm that shortly went stomach up. Based on Dave’s historical past with investing, the suggestion of bitcoin was already suspect. A self-described “econ dork” with a level in economics, McKenzie began researching whereas the world was nonetheless shut down.

His curiosity led to taking pictures this documentary. “Do you know what we’re doing?” he asks one among his youngsters on digicam. “You’re trying to make fun of people who use cryptocurrency,” the child replies. And actually, it is going to appear like that to some viewers. But McKenzie has not solely achieved the legwork, he is additionally backed by among the cryptocurrency crises that occurred as he was taking pictures this film.

While driving his fellow actor spouse, Morena Baccarin (“Deadpool“), loopy along with his newfound obsession, McKenzie had time to go to her on set and interview her costar, Gerard Butler about his bitcoin investing. He additionally attended a 2022 bitcoin convention in Miami, the place he found a believer in Alex Gladstein, the chief technique officer of the Human Rights Foundation.

Once El Salvador became the first country to add bitcoin to its economy, McKenzie traveled there and visited the first “resident” of the promised “Bitcoin City,” a planned location the El Salvadorian president said would be a shining beacon on a hill, or rather, on a volcano. To keep the viewpoint fair, the director also interviews a fisherman who’s being forced off the land his family has lived for generations to make a way for Bitcoin City.

You’ll be stunned what number of crypto bigwigs are on this documentary. Before he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for quite a few offenses, the previous head of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, sat down for an ungainly on-camera interview; McKenzie attends the chat whereas wielding a cup that claims “fraud investigator.” Celsius Network’s president, Alex Mashinskycan be grilled about that failed New Jersey cryptocurrency firm, which he based mere strolling distance from the place I’m submitting this assessment.

Even Boston’s own Matt Damon will get kicked round a bit for his notorious and embarrassing “fortune favors the brave” crypto buying and selling.

Lest I overlook, former cryptocurrency skeptic (and present co-star of “Marty Supreme” Kevin O’Leary exhibits up a couple of occasions, each earlier than and after he turned a paid spokesperson for investing in crypto.

It seems like learning your lesson about crypto is damn near impossible — when asked by McKenzie, several regular people who lost big bucks when Celsius Network went under still say they’ll invest in bitcoin. Numerous influencers also get their turn to attack McKenzie in a montage, even after all the crypto-based arrests and failures.

McKenzie is an engaging host and a believable skeptic. By the end of the film, he jokes with Baccarin that he’d hoped for a happier ending. Coming from a coding background, I rejected the entire notion of cryptocurrency back when I was in Silicon Valley, so I’m the right audience for this movie. Whether you agree or not with McKenzie’s thesis, you may still walk away realizing that our grandparents had the right idea when they stuffed their life savings into their Sealy Posturepedic.

★★★

EVERYBODY IS LYING TO YOU FOR MONEY

Directed by Ben McKenzie. At Coolidge Corner. 90 min. Unrated.

Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe’s movie critic.