‘WHAM!’ review round-up: A ‘larky, summery nostalgia blast’ documents rise of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley
On July 5, 2023, Netflix released “WHAM!” Through archival interviews and footage, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley relive the arc of their Wham! career, from 70s best buds to 80s pop icons. The documentary is directed by Chris Smith and is holding fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a critics score of 83%. Fans are even more enthusiastic to walk down memory lane with the “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” hit makers, scoring it a perfect 100%. Read our full review round-up below.
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian says, ”’Wise guys realise / There’s danger in emotional ties …’ Here was one of the most artlessly, chillingly brilliant pop lyrics of the 80s, from Wham!’s ‘Young Guns (Go For It)’, something to compare with the triumph of Madonna being a material girl in a material world. You can’t help thinking again about its relevance to Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael’s emotional ties to each other as you watch this entertaining but weirdly incurious documentary, composed of existing footage and voiceover commentary.” Bradshaw adds, “This documentary, wittily structured around the fan scrapbooks that Andrew’s mum created, does remind you how joyful Wham!’s music was: pure pop hedonism, which swallowed up rap and political comment.”
Fionnuala Halligan of Screen International writes, “As peppy as Wham! at their poptastic best, Chris Smith’s ‘WHAM!’ traces the four-year rise of George Michael’s bubblegum duo through his and band mate Andrew Ridgeley’s voiceover memories. What emerges is the story of an extremely close and profoundly charming boyhood friendship – but one where the junior partner couldn’t, or wouldn’t, put the genie of his extraordinary talent back in the bottle once his pal had coaxed it out of him.” Halligan concludes, “There’s plenty of trivia in here for Wham! die-hards. Like how Michael wanted to come out as they made the Club Tropicana video, but didn’t because Andrew feared how his strict Greek father would react…it’s hard not to play the game of what-might-have-been.”
Wesley Morris of the New York Times says, “Nothing here’s overthought or pumped up. To invoke the words of a different beacon of catchiness, “Wham!” is a teenage dream. You could drink it from a coconut.”
Diego Batile of Otrocines.com notes, “Even for those who’ve never been fans of the British duo’s playful and catchy pop, Chris Smith’s documentary never ceases to be interesting and at times it’s even fascinating.”
Stuart Heritage of The Guardian writes, “The wildly talented director Chris Smith (whose work includes the bananas Fyre festival film and the still-weird documentary about the time Jim Carrey came to believe he was literally Andy Kaufman) turns his hand to one of the greatest, and most under-appreciated, British pop groups of the 1980s. History has slowly eroded Wham! to a punchline – The hair! The naffness! The apparently superfluous nature of Andrew Ridgeley! But, through archive footage and voiceover, Smith attempts to reframe the popularity of the group as ‘two idiots’ (in the words of Michael) having the time of their lives. For anyone in the mood for a larky, summery nostalgia blast, Wham! will be hard to beat.”
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