While they were in their prime in the 1980s, music duo Wham! remain an enduring pop culture topic, having topped the charts as recently as 2020 with their holiday hit, “Last Christmas” -- which inspired a rom-com of the same name starring Emilia Clarke -- and have been cited as one of Deadpool’s favorite groups in the Ryan Reynolds-led superhero movie favorite from 2016. The story of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley's rise to fame, thanks to their classic good looks and ability to write impeccably catchy music, is explored in a new self-titled documentary. Allow us to prepare you for Wham! with everything you need to know about the new Netflix movie in our quick, comprehensive guide below.
Wham! is A Documentary About The Pop Group
From Chris Smith — the Emmy-nominated director of other great Netflix original documentaries like Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond and the smash hit true crime doc docuseries, Tiger King — comes his latest feature for the platform in the form of, Wham! The doc follows the life and career of the English, Grammy-nominated musical duo of the same name, comprised of lead singer Michael (who passed away in 2016) and guitar player Ridgeley. From the beginning of their friendship when they were just 12 years old, their massive popularity through the early-to-mid-1980s with songs like "Careless Whisper" and “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” and their eventual disbanding, everything you wanted to know about the group is presented here in a firsthand account.
The Story Is Told By The Duo Through Archival Interviews
Who better to tell the story behind the success of Wham! than the same two men who experienced it all themselves? That is achieved in the doc by compiling archival video footage and audio clips of the group recalling the highs and lows of their career and their enduring friendship along the way. The interviews also get especially personal when covering topics like Michael’s sexuality — which he kept private until a legal incident forced him to publicly announce it in 1998, as The Independent recalls — and his larger, rising fame that led to he and Ridgeley’s split.
The Documentary Is 92 Minutes Long
There is enough information about Michael and Ridgeley’s lives and careers to fill a multi-episode docuseries. However, Wham! focuses primarily on their time as a duo and amounts to a runtime that lasts just a little more than an hour and a half.
Wham! Is Rated TV-14
Wham! is a great way for younger audiences who did not get experience the music of the group in their prime to become acquainted with their legacy. Luckily, parents will not have to worry about exposing their teenage children to anything too inappropriate as the doc is only rated TV-14 for some language, footage of smoking, and nudity of a brief and non-graphic degree.
Wham! Is Streaming On Netflix
Also previously established, a Netflix subscription is required to watch the documentary, which became exclusively available on the platform as Wednesday, July 5, 2023. Log in to stream Wham! on Netflix now!
