Category: Documentary Review

‘Welcome to Wrexham’ Season 2 Documentary Review

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General Information

Produced by – Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds

Where to Watch – Hulu

Synopsis – After the purchase of one of the oldest football clubs in the world, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds use their Hollywood charisma and love for the Wrexham community to get the team promoted out of the National League.

 

Review

‘Welcome to Wrexham’ is one of the few docu-series that fascinates me so much that I get upset when I am “spoiled” for what will happen in the next season due to the games continuing in real time.  While Season 1 was able to focus on the purchase and building up of the unknown team, Season 2 has the challenge of what to do now that they were thrust into the spotlight.  Rob and Ryan take a backseat as the focus turns to the community that makes Wrexham as amazing as it is.

 

What I loved about this season was how the creative team was able to focus on different parts that contribute to the team outside of the players themselves.  It was this season that really showcased what it means to be a Wrexham supporter.  Some of the fans Season 1 focused on, like Wayne Jones (owner of The Turf) and Shaun Winter (general fan), make their return to tell us what they have been up to since the docu-series has dropped and what it has meant to them as supporters.  But we are also introduced to some other fans and each of them easily takes hold of your heart, making you fall more in love with the community at the center of this series.  Millie is an autistic fan who has gained confidence in herself by watching the games in the “quiet zone.”  Mark is the announcer of the games who has seen the club through it all.  There are so many stories like these that become the focus of the season, which is such an interesting yet needed change of pace for a sports docu-series.  While there are moments in sports documentaries that talk about the fans, I have never seen anything so dedicated to telling the stories of the community members like ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ does.

The lives of the players are also explored more during this season.  The lead goal scorer, Paul Mullin, talks about the autism diagnosis of his son in the same episode we learned about Millie.  Ollie Palmer talks about the struggles of living apart from his family during the football season.  There is even some time dedicated to the Wrexham Women’s football club, who were seeking promotion just as much as the men.  Everyone who is a part of the team has such a different dynamic they bring that you do not see too much from American athletes.  They are not afraid to get vulnerable about more personal aspects of their lives, bringing tears to your eyes at least once an episode. 

 

Ryan and Rob do make appearances when it comes to the business side of the team.  While those aspects of the team can be a little boring, the guys always try to make it as interesting as possible.  You can tell just how much they care about making the team a priority in their lives, with constant travel out to Wales to watch the games while also making sure they are present in the community.  For one of the games, the ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ cast join Rob and it is just so much fun to see how much this team means to Ryan and Rob.  Their passion radiates through the screen for anyone to attach to.

Anytime we are able to see heart and dedication put into a docu-series like the crew of ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ puts in season after season, it is impossible not to fall in love.

“Bama Rush” Documentary Review

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General Information:

Director – Rachel Fleit

Where to Watch – Max

Synopsis – #BamaRush took over social media in August of 2021, but why did it become such a hit?  And why do thousands of women go to the University of Alabama just to be in a sorority?  And is Greek Life hiding secrets that need to be uncovered?  We follow four young potential new members to find out during the 2022 recruitment season.

Review:

Even though I may not have been in the heart of #BamaRushTok when it was popular in August of 2021, I still heard about it.  I occasionally came across some of the popular videos that were trending, but I did not think much of it.  I knew that Greek Life culture at the big southern schools was intense and having gone through the process myself at a smaller southern school, I did not really give the hype of it a second thought.  That was until I found out that HBO Max (now Max) was going to be doing a documentary on it.  The online rumors that surrounded this was that they were going to be planting girls as Potential New Members (PMNs for short) and get all of the secrets that goes on behind recruitment. As much as I would love to see it from the inside of another school, I did not think this would be the case.  But everyone else on the internet did, and you can tell it definitely impacted what the documentary wanted to do towards the end, but I think its message still came across.

One of the most interesting things about this documentary was that the director put herself into the picture.  She was not just a figure asking questions in the background; there were parts when she was front and center talking about some of her experiences.  Fleit has the condition alopecia, where your body attacks the hair follicles making it so you are not able to grow hair.  As a woman, this can be an especially hard condition to have.  A lot of the criticism that has come for the documentary makes the point that Fleit seems to insert herself more than is needed.  I really liked this choice of filmmaking as it brought the more behind-the-scenes crew to the forefront and focus on why they wanted to make the documentary.  Now, people have complained saying that Fleit’s alopecia as it was her personal story to tell and had no purpose in being in a documentary about sorority recruitment.  I actually liked this aspect of the documentary, as the director is bringing in her personal story to go along with why some of the recruits go through sorority recruitment in the first place – a sense of belonging.  Growing up as a young woman, you are always judged by the way you look before anything else.  Not having hair is not normal for your average woman, so growing up with that kind of condition is not an easy task.  The message that came across to me is that girls who are PMNs are trying to find their place on campus – it is a new school and they may know little to no one – so having that support system is crucial.  When you feel accepted and a part of something, you have a better  chance of thriving in your future.  This is why I think Fleit decided to talk about her personal journey and struggle with her hair; she just wanted to find a place of acceptance just like PMNs.

The main issue that took me out of the documentary was that they tried to touch upon so many different topics that surround Alabama Greek Life that it felt like I was just reading a Cliff Notes version of the actual events.  There is so much that goes behind the specific life of being in a fraternity and sorority at the University of Alabama specifically, and the documentary wants to talk about each of them.  However, a lot of the interesting things about The Machine or how racism was heavily involved until recent years when they have attempted to desegregate their Greek Life.  That was all of the information I was most looking forward to learning more about as it involves things that I have heard rumors about online.  This is where I think the documentary would have benefited more from being a docuseries.  We could have had the overall through line of wanting to be accepted still there but have each episode focus on a major topic.  One could focus on The Machine and  how they tried to run the entirety of the Student Government at Alabama, leading into potential political futures for the candidates they were campaigning.  Another could focus on the racist history of Greek Life at Alabama while shining a bigger light on the historically Black fraternities and sororities on campus (called The Divine Nine).  There could also be one focusing on the PNMs going through the training with the rush coordinators and how much time and effort goes into the rush process.  But because it was restrained to an under two hour documentary, a lot of the interesting ideas were lost in the final product.

With a good message that could have been executed better, “Bama Rush” is an interesting look at how girls find comfort in sororities because they need to find a sense of belonging, but the documentary tries to also include University of Alabama-specific components that do not go anywhere.  Overall, just pretty average with entertaining bits here and there.