Wham! Documentary Coming July 5th and It Looks As Gay and Fabulous As We Could Hope!

June 23, 2023
TOMMY

There are faves of the LGBTQ+ world and then there are actual Queer Icons™. If ever there was a pop group that falls into the latter category, it's Wham! the British pop duo consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. And now, Netflix is gifting us with a documentary on the group!

In their own words. The new documentary film WHAM! comes to Netflix 5 July. pic.twitter.com/63BPQlJuFr
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) June 19, 2023

Specifically, the documentary looks to explore the peak of George Michael's career, when he was still deeply closeted. In a matter of just four short years, Wham! played to sold-out crowds around the world and came out with some of the biggest songs of the '80s. Even if you're a younger reader who is less familiar with the duo, I can almost guarantee that you've heard some of their legendary singles. I'm talking, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Careless Whisper", and "Last Christmas" just to name a few.

via GIPHY

While George Michael went on to be an international superstar as a solo artist when the band eventually split up, Andrew Ridgeley never quite found the same stardom, a dynamic that led him to stay on the private side of things in the decades that followed. But this documentary finally gives us a look into Ridgeley's experience, and his relationship with Michael having known each other since they were teens.

The documentary is from Chris Smith, who has made a name for himself as one of the go-to names for the best documentaries. Previously, Smith made the 2019 documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, which detailed the absolutely chaotic mess that was the now-infamous Fyre Festival, and he also executive produced Tiger King, the documentary that brought us all through the first six months of the Pandemic and introduced the world to Joe Exotic and Carol Baskin.

Fun and sunshine, there’s enough for everyone.
WHAM!, the new documentary film charting the global rise of pop sensations George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, told in their own words. Coming to Netflix 5 July.pic.twitter.com/XloVfKNGnT
— George Michael Official (@GeorgeMOfficial) June 15, 2023

What seems clear from the trailer is that Michael's struggle to keep his sexuality a secret unsurprisingly added to the stresses of being an international sex symbol and frontman to a superstar duo. "As a young, gay man... I was just uncomfortable because I was closeted" the artist says at one point. Ridgely, whose sexuality has remained ambiguous over the decades, says, "I never felt that our music defined me in the same way that it did for George."

Happy #PrideMonth! We are celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community - this month and every month. pic.twitter.com/7fUss9a6NY
— George Michael Official (@GeorgeMOfficial) June 5, 2023

What's evident is that this documentary is going to give us a deep and personal look into the duo that helped shape so many of us. Wham! influenced everything from young gay men and their burgeoning sense of Queerness to the global fashion industry and how teens around the world dressed. Michael finally came out as gay in 1998, and died suddenly in 2016. The trailer looks like it's going to be outstanding, and I love that it comes out right after Pride Month ends. Keeps the Queer joy going well into July!