THE STORY OF WHAM! IS MORE ABOUT FRIENDSHIP THAN MUSIC

Music documentaries or biographical movies can always be a mixed bag of what you might get. They either seem to give you more than you expected or miss out on some of the more interesting aspects of the band or singer. While Bohemian Rhapsody was a wonderful film that captured Queen and Freddy Mercury quite well there were those that felt it left some important things out. Not everyone is always happy with the outcome. For those of us that waited for the next weekly episode of VH1’s Behind the Music and then watched the reruns at every chance documentaries nowadays have a lot to live up to. It set a certain standard to give us all the highest highs and lowest lows that we may or may not have known about. While the 80’s pop group Wham! had their own BTM back in the day this new documentary on Netflix is a warm change.

Wham! was comprised of two main figures in Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael. Two young men from England that fate brought together at a young age that started as a friendship that grew into a worldwide sensation. Wham! was the epitome of Pop bands in the 1980s with all the bubble gum sound and flash that the decade personified. Sometimes not taken seriously due to their sound the fans and radio station listeners kept them extremely relevant by buying their albums and filling arenas. They have songs like Careless Whisper and Wake Me Up Before You Go Go that are staples of 80s themed parties. They are even mentioned as the favorite band of the comic book movie character Deadpool in the movies starring Ryan Reynolds. As the band grew more famous though it seemed that George was becoming the real star as Andrew became more of an afterthought that some saw as a slight to the friend and bandmember. Is this the part of the story that we get the dirty details of their epic breakup and seething anger for one another?

No, is the answer and it’s the best answer you’ll get. Wham! on Netflix is a completely different take on the traditional documentary. The entire documentary is snips of quotes from Andrew and the now late George as if they are being interviewed live. Whole Andrew may have added new stories and angles all of George is from previous interviews. It’s put together so well that it feels like they are sitting in a room together going over their career together and filling in the blank spots that the other can’t remember. There is a mix of previous filmed interviews and more home movies of the group than you would ever expect. It is all stitched together lovingly with Andrew’s mother’s scrapbooks that she kept of the band. There are several volumes that pictures and stories can be drawn from. It’s amazing really how well she did it. You learn about their humble beginnings, struggles, and all the successes and painful moments that fame can bring. I think it’s in everyone’s human nature to want to hear about all the bad stuff the band endeared and how there was animosity and then a form of redemption. You won’t get that here, and it is wonderful. The documentary starts out talking about how these two men were the best of friends at the start and that never really went away. It has to be one of the warmest documentaries about a band that I have ever watched. While I’m sure they had their disagreements there was never a knock down drag out fight. There wasn’t a night where in a fit of jealousy that Andrew yelled at George and they didn’t talk for years. What you have is two friends that never lost sight of their friendship. The doc doesn’t skirt issues or the fact that George was gay, but instead presents it in a way that makes the viewer just not care about any problems they had with each other. While it doesn’t make for a great dramatic movie full of anger and guilt and finally a friendly hug that they are friends again it does contain a feel-good story of friends supporting each other and seeing one go on to be bigger than the band and his friend supporting him. It doesn’t pander to the fanbase either with this story so that someone that doesn’t know much about Wham! doesn’t feel lost and is able to just enjoy a good story. It’s a story about friends that just happened to be in one of the most popular bands of their time and that didn’t change a thing as far as friends go.