Wham! (2023) Documentary Review

Even if you haven’t heard the song “Careless Whisper,” you know its opening piano chords and the chorus. Even though you haven’t heard the name “Wham!”, you have listened to their songs, imbibed in a cultural consciousness that has only increased in resurgence as nostalgia becomes a weapon while streaming benefits from it. Perhaps that is why opening the movie with a demo of “Careless Whisper” underscores the importance of the song for both the two-man group as well as the legacy of its biggest star, the late George Michael (Georgios Panayiotou), whose name change also corresponded with the image he tried to uphold throughout his “Wham!” years.

Director Curtis Smith knows what documentary he is trying to make, and he even structures the documentary based on forty scrapbooks charting the journey of Wham! It’s irrelevant whether the scrapbooks are real or a narrative framework. What is fascinating is how Smith uses archival footage, archival voiceovers, and interviews to structure a narrative around the rise and fall of Wham! Could it be called a fall if the journey ends with an amicable split?

It’s interesting what the thesis statement of the actual documentary is—that both show the rise of Brit-pop as a socially conscious funk before evolving into party anthems. That is until George Michael’s own singer-songwriter and producing prowess grew and gave rise to a singular identity. It was an identity also shaped by Michael’s own battles with his sexuality, Moreover, it’s heartening how Michael’s disembodied voiceover describes his struggle with coming out to his father after having done that with his best friend Andrew.

And how choosing to stay closeted for the better part of that youth affected him. That is the second part of the thesis statement of this documentary: ideation on how Michael’s own self-confidence grew as Wham! became more successful, and his contributions grew larger.

But the documentary also doesn’t put Andrew Ridgeley in the “dark of the moon” in terms of the narrative spotlight. While the voicing and analogy are crude, Ridgeley is described as Wham! And Michael, being the copy of Ridgeley at least in its initial years, dove quite well into mildly touching through their family lives, with Michael’s father’s interview offering brief snapshots to provide context.

Again, Smith knows the documentary he is making, and so if it includes at least a 1.5-minute sequence of the “Careless Whisper” music video with Michael ad-libbing, you won’t hear this writer complain. While this writer admits to not being a connoisseur of Wham! Or George Michael, by any means, it is pretty evident that this four-year journey needed a bit more depth of exploration than what had been presented. This documentary is the quintessential description of a surface-level starter pack if you are curious about the music group. That is not bad because surface-level documentaries do thrive, and one with such energy and catchy tunes underscoring almost every moment on screen at least makes the narrative engaging.

But it is also evident that there are more elements to the story. There could have been more perspectives to be explored instead of the choice Smith made to restrict the perspective to only the two key members through their voiceovers. It could have also explored the activism of George Michael, but that would have ballooned into the George Michael documentary and not the Wham! Group.

The big problem here is that because this is a narrative, the basic definition of a narrative is somewhat lacking: conflict. The only conflict ably explored is Michael’s dilemma towards his sexuality and a somewhat cursory touching of their way to fame. It could be perfectly possible that Andrew Ridgeley’s easygoing nature allowed for a larger understanding between the two of them before the amicable split finally occurred. It’s just harder to sell that narrative in what feels like a cotton candy documentary.

But Wham!—the documentary, like the band—is fun, frothy, with lots of fizz, and if drank and tasted carefully, might contain a bit more substance. The decision to end the documentary when Wham! splits is a decisive one that should be appreciated. The decision to end it in a manner that would make any non-discerning audience believe that George Michael is still alive is pretty strange. The decision to finally include an “In Memoriam” for George Michael at the end of the end credits and not at the beginning of the movie or the beginning of the end credits is definitely an eyebrow-raising choice.