Ryan Atwood has moved on from The O.C., but have we? Ben McKenzie, whose career has gone on far beyond the phoenix-esque show that burned bright and fast, running only 4 seasons, yet being the career defining moment for McKenzie. he’d go on to do the critically acclaimed Southland, which ran for 5 seasons, and of course Gotham, which also ran for five seasons. In film Ben recently starred in Bloat, a horror film in the vein of Searching, and was also in Junebug with Amy Adams (who earned her first Oscar nomination for the film). he’s not DiCaprio, but he’s managed to consistently work for 25 years, which is not a bad statistic.

He’s also struggled a bit with finances, something he does mention in his new documentary Everyone Is Lying to You For Money. Perhaps those bad investments, coupled with the fact that he has a Bachelors in Foreign Affairs and Economics from the University Of Virginia, that powered him through this crypto doc, which likely affirms what many skeptics already believe and counters the faithful. McKenzie doesn’t buy the hype, and he spent a few years prepping a documentary to tell you why.

And, honestly, it isn’t bad. McKenzie uses his affability to simplify the often complicated and misinformed structure of crypto, trying to pull back the curtain on what some believe is the future of currency. He does this by using his own celebrity status to get himself interviews with people likely interested in meeting the actor, and showing up at events. He’s shown at an event in Miami designed to show how crypto is the future, but can’t use his crypto wallet to pay for drinks at the bar. He also flies down to El Salvador, where they are planning a crypto city, and talks to the seemingly only guy there about why he migrated to the middle of nowhere, in formerly one of the world’s most dangerous countries. Obviously, this is an opinion documentary, and a lot is left to creative editing. Is this really the only guy? Was there anything else he could have used his crypto wallet for at the event?

What McKenzie does well, is make the concept of crypto accessible, even without accessibility like audio description, the film feels like The Big Short, where complicated ideas are streamlined so an average moviegoer can follow it. I’m sure the crypto industry scoffs at this, but he brings up good points. He’s not a financial advisor, and he never gives financial advice. Sure, the documentary leans one way, but he’s not endorsing crypto the way other celebrities like Matt Damon have. he testifies in front of Congress about his learnings (which admittedly feels like an odd choice, as he sits next to the guy from Shark Tank), and he interviews the man behind one of the biggest Crypto collapses, Sam Bankman Freed, who gets cagey around a question about political contributions. He also interviews the owners of a crypto bank, before it goes belly up, and reminds us all why being FDIC insured is so important.

There is a lot to love here about the documentary, and Ben McKenzie has if nothing else, made crypto easier to understand for anyone needing a cliff notes version from someone with no financial stake in the thing they are teaching you about. McKenzie isn’t being paid by crypto, and has nothing to gain if it fails. He doesn’t own a bank, if crypto collapsed and went away tomorrow, I see zero ways in how he profits. Sure, he has bias, but he admits that he is coming into this from the point of a skeptic, believing that crypto is just another Ponzi scheme. So, the creative editing, it all aligns with what he’s already admitted to. he never admits to being fair and balanced, or promises to show you the pros and cons. he isn’t aiming for historical accuracy, rather offering people a lifeboat in stormy weather.

In no way do I expect this to be in contention at the Oscars, but I do think many out there will benefit from what Ben has to say here, and who he talks to along the way. While some believe this might be a way to put power to the people, Ben points out that right now, the unregulated status of the format itself is leading to rampant fraud. If you want crypto currency to work, likely some laws are needed to hold people more accountable than they are.

McKenzie does his best to streamline and make information on crypto more accessible, while maintaining that this is his opinion, and he’s not giving you financial advice, nor should any other actor.

Fresh: Final Grade: 8.7/10