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Wham! (film)

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Wham!
Cinema release poster
Directed byChris Smith
Produced by
Starring
Edited by
  • Gregor Lyon
Music by
  • Tim Atack
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 17 June 2023 (2023-06-17) (DocFest)
  • 27 June 2023 (2023-06-27) (United Kingdom)
  • 5 July 2023 (2023-07-05) (Netflix)
Running time
92 minutes[4]
Country
  • United Kingdom[5]
LanguageEnglish

Wham! is a 2023 documentary film about the English pop duo Wham! consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. The film marks the 40th anniversary of their 1983 debut album Fantastic. It is directed by Chris Smith and relies primarily on rare archive footage and audio interviews by the duo, including tv appearances, concert footage, private home video and behind-the-scenes outtakes and family comments all linked together using scrapbooks created by Andrew's mother. A British venture, the Netflix film was co-produced by Ventureland / Passion Pictures, Nemperor Production and Library Films with Altitude Film and Netflix serving as distributors.[6][7][8]

Wham! had its world premiere at the Sheffield DocFest on 17–18 June 2023 and was given a limited theatrical release in the United Kingdom on 27 June, by Altitude Film. It was released worldwide to stream on 5 July 2023 on Netflix. It received generally positive reviews from critics.[9]

Synopsis

Wham! covers the journey of the pop duo George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, featuring private home video and never-before-seen archive footage, framed together using the large series of scrapbooks with photos which Andrew's mother had created throughout the film.

In 1982, the best of friends and still teenagers - George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley as WHAM! set out to conquer the world. By June 1986 they played their very last gig at Wembley Stadium having done exactly that. Now for the very first time, told in their own words, the amazing story of how in four years they dominated the charts around the world with timeless and classic pop songs. Hit after hit - Club Tropicana, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, Freedom, I'm Your Man and of course Last Christmas. Their time in the spotlight was white-hot, becoming the very first western pop act to play in China. It was a time that both encapsulated and epitomised not just their youth, but also those of the many millions of fans that adored them.[10]

Production

Wham! duo George Michael (left) and Andrew Ridgeley (right) circa 1984-85.

Development

The idea of a documentary film project was when producer Simon Halfon put forward the idea whilst having lunch with Andrew Ridgeley in 2019.[11] In June 2022, it was announced that a documentary film about the band Wham! was in production and had the official support of Andrew Ridgeley, with Chris Smith signed on to direct. The official social media of Ridgeley and Michael announced and asked the public for any footage they may have.[12]

In the early stages of the project, Smith said that he approached it with the possibility of using on-screen interviews, however, during the editing process, Smith had decided to use the archival audio of George Michael with a new audio interview from Ridgeley. A number of days were spent in Ridgeley’s studio during the recording.[13] According to Smith, one of the biggest surprises were the scrapbooks (around 50), that Ridgeley’s mother put together documenting the entire four years.[14]

Tapes of archival footage of varying quality were discovered and located by the team included a VHS tape of their 1983 Hammersmith Odeon concert from the Club Fantastic Tour owned by Wham! bass player Dave West. This was found not long before the film’s completion.[15]

Music

Composer Tim Atack was in charge of the film's musical score. Some examples of used concert footage and studio cut excerpts of the following tracks:

Release

Wham! held its world premiere at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England for the 30th Sheffield DocFest on 17 June 2023 with a Q&A session after the screening with the film's director Chris Smith and Wham! member Andrew Ridgeley, both via video call. On 18 June it was given another DocFest preview at the Showroom Cinema’s Warner Chappell Production Music screen.[16] An advanced BAFTA screening followed on 20 June 2023 with Smith, Halfon, Battsek, Ridgeley and Wham! backing singer Shirlie Holliman in attendance for a Q&A session hosted Anna Higgs at BAFTA's Piccadilly headquarters in London.[17] Further screenings with Smith in attendance followed in late June at the Paris Theater in Manhattan and at the Bay Theater in Palisades Village, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.[18]

Wham! was released theatrically on 27 June 2023, in the United Kingdom by Altitude Film Distribution and is scheduled to be released on Netflix on 5 July 2023.

Marketing

An official trailer was released on 15 June 2023 and featured the songs "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go".[19]

Reception

Critical response

Upon its premiere at the 2023 Sheffeil DocFest, the film received positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of 10 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.6/10.[20][21]

Screen International film critic Fionnuala Halligan wrote "The quality is far above the norm for this type of memoir assemblage, even if the substance is full of air bubbles..."[22] In a positive 4/5 star review for the London Evening Standard, El Hunt called it an "illuminating film" with it being "Cleverly stitched together and drawing on a vast archive of audio recordings, their narrative does not shy away from reappraising the band’s past and even calling themselves out."[23] Wendy Ide from The Guardian gave the film 4 stars out of 5, said "The film, which creates a dialogue between recent interviews with Ridgeley and older archive recordings of Michael, pays tribute to the close bond between the two Bushey Meads school friends who found themselves living the dream."[24]

San Francisco Chronicle’s, Mick LaSalle described it "“Wham!” tells a sweet story", he continued "but also a goofy and entertaining one, because these guys were more ’80s than anybody, more even than “Miami Vice” and Duran Duran." giving it 3 out of 4 marks.[25] Chicago Sun-Times's Richard Roeper summed up the film as "The end result is a feel-good documentary about a feel-good band who were never destined for a decades-long run but had one hell of a good time dancing at the top of the pop charts for a few crazy years."; he rated the film three of four stars.[26] Kevin Harley, writing for the Radio Times gave 3 stars, saying "While the film can seem somewhat shallow, it works best as a warmly nostalgic celebration of fleeting youth and friendship."[27] Debiparna Chakraborty from Best of Netflix gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing "...the documentary acts as a vehicle for nostalgia, celebrating the effervescence of youth and the mercurial nature of fame."[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ "'Wham!' Documentary To Make World Premiere At Sheffield, As DocFest Reveals 30th Edition Lineup". Deadline. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  2. ^ Halligan, Fionnuala (17 June 2023). "'WHAM!': Sheffield Review". Screendaily. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  3. ^ "'Wham!' Documentary To Make World Premiere At Sheffield, As DocFest Reveals 30th Edition Lineup". Deadline. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Wham!". British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  5. ^ Halligan, Fionnuala (17 June 2023). "'WHAM!': Sheffield Review". Screendaily. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  6. ^ Halligan, Fionnuala (17 June 2023). "'WHAM!': Sheffield Review". Screendaily. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  7. ^ "'Wham!' Documentary To Make World Premiere At Sheffield, As DocFest Reveals 30th Edition Lineup". Deadline. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Wham!". Sheffield DocFest. June 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  9. ^ Halligan, Fionnuala (17 June 2023). "'WHAM!': Sheffield Review". Screendaily. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Wham!". Netflix Media Center. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  11. ^ Eames, Tom (29 June 2023). "Wham documentary is 'a story of friendship': Director Chris Smith reveals how he made the Netflix film". Smooth Radio. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  12. ^ Edwards, Chris (7 June 2022). "New Wham! documentary featuring Andrew Ridgeley in the works". NME. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  13. ^ Eames, Tom (29 June 2023). "Wham documentary is 'a story of friendship': Director Chris Smith reveals how he made the Netflix film". Smooth Radio. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  14. ^ Eames, Tom (29 June 2023). "Wham documentary is 'a story of friendship': Director Chris Smith reveals how he made the Netflix film". Smooth Radio. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  15. ^ Eames, Tom (29 June 2023). "Wham documentary is 'a story of friendship': Director Chris Smith reveals how he made the Netflix film". Smooth Radio. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Wham!". Sheffield DocFest. June 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  17. ^ "BAFTA Screening: WHAM! Photocall and Q&A". Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  18. ^ "The Paris Theater". Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  19. ^ Blistein, Jon (15 June 2023). "Friendship and Creative Fire Fuel Wham!'s World-Conquering Pop in New Doc Trailer". Rollingstone. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  20. ^ "Wham!". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  21. ^ "WHAM!". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  22. ^ Halligan, Fionnuala (17 June 2023). "'WHAM!': Sheffield Review". Screendaily. Media Business Insight. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  23. ^ Hunt, El (23 June 2023). "WHAM! documentary review: there's a refreshing lack of hyperbole". Evening Standard. Evening Standard Ltd. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  24. ^ Ide, Wendy (25 June 2023). "Wham! review – the truth behind the mahogany tans and catchy songs". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  25. ^ LaSalle, Mick (4 July 2023). "In 'Wham!' documentary, friendship triumphs over showbiz". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  26. ^ Roeper, Richard (4 July 2023). "If you're gonna do a Wham! documentary, do it right — like Netflix did". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago Public Media. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  27. ^ Harley, Kevin (22 June 2023). "WHAM!". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  28. ^ "'Wham!' review: An ode to friendship in the murky world of showbiz". best-of-netflix.com. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
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