Chris Smith, who directed the new Wham! Documentary available on Netflix made the conscious decision to zero in on Michael’s formative years with the group for this very reason. And it’s arguably one of the best decisions because the amount of movies and documentaries created about George Michael’s life before and after his death is the only thing that surpasses the prizes he received over the years.
However, limiting one’s attention to just that would be a mistake, given the film’s shallow exploration of the subject. The question that arises today is whether or not George Michael was omitted from the Wham! Documentary.
This movie is about Wham!; It’s about that time period. So it wasn’t about everything that happened after. It was really just about that. I mean there can be many other films on their lives going forward, but this was the one that we were focused on, stated director Chris Smith.
This seems like it should be addressed, especially because George’s sexuality was a major factor in the demise of Wham! in a documentary on the band, yet it isn’t. The nearest thing we get is another interview part in which Michael describes how, at the age of 19, he realized he was homosexual or at least bisexual.
Even though George called it “a pivotal moment,” the documentary doesn’t delve any more into this idea, suggesting that director Chris Smith disagrees.
While the extensive use of rare archival video does offer Michael a much-needed platform, his input was noticeably absent during the selection process. That’s where we get into trouble.
The issue is that Chris Smith isn’t interested in giving their narrative a “serious” read. Unfortunately, his focus on how “life affirming” Wham! was to their countless followers leaves his analysis pretty empty. Too much is omitted for the picture to be “reflective of the experience that they shared,” as director Chris Smith put it. Okay, well, I guess we should say thanks for the ride.