By Mr. Will Wong
Eight-part Mini-Series WECRASHED recounts the rapid rise and fall of WeWork, which started in 2010 under Adam Neumann (Jared Leto) and Miguel McKelvey (Kyle Marvin). The Company gave new startup technology companies, among other new enterprises, the ability to acquire flexible workspaces. We get a glimpse of the egos that governed the WeWork, namely Adam and his wife Rebekah (Anne Hathaway), which led the company to face great scrutiny in its unconventional business practices and future outlook, failing in its initial offering of company stock. The directing duo of John Requa and Glenn Ficarra manage to take this spectacular failure which just now in 2021 is finally recovering from near-fatality, succeeding in being a publicly-shared company, making incredible entertainment of it all.
At the center of the story is Adam, just a fledgling entrepreneur who thinks and talks big. His way of working lands him not only the gig of his dreams, but also the woman of his dreams in Rebekah. We meet the latter as a struggling Yoga Instructor (making $1 per student) and Actress (she’s legitimately a first cousin to Gwyneth Paltrow). He swings big and has that magical ability to persuade getting others and more often than not, they buy into his infectious charisma. We’re taking notes, trust me.
The Series works on two levels. On the surface it is a study of how a company which had a valuation of $47 billion at one point, saw several missteps that led to its value plummeting. And just when you think it’s over, it isn’t. It also is a love story between a pair of narcissists and their commitment to making WeWork thrive because it keeps giving them each their own platform to be noticed and heard. This is a thing of marvel.
Leto nails the Comedy of this and is cast well, convincing in Adam‘s delusion of grandeur. We wished we got a bit more nuance though as it feels as though this is a portrayal of Adam (don’t get us wrong, he is great) more so when he’s “on”. What we would’ve wanted more of was a balancing of some of the dramatic elements, giving us an understanding of the drive behind the man who deceived and manipulated his way to a payout in the billions. Hathaway also gets the humour behind all this, but we are able to get a bit further under the surface with Rebekah and what makes her tick. Whether it be her failed attempt at acting, dealing relentlessly with people using her as an “in” with her famous cousin, or her relationship with her father Bob Paltrow (Peter Jacobson), who was jailed for tax evasion, Hathaway gets Rebekah‘s darkest vulnerabilities and why defeat for her just isn’t an option. America Ferrera joins the story as Elishia Kennedy, a bright entrepreneur grappling with her own separation from her husband, lured into the shimmer of what Adam and Rebekah are selling. She is fantastic and like her, we wonder “Is Adam for real?”.
It’s all like watching an accident and its aftermath unfold, which is exactly what we signed-up for.
The first three episodes of WECRASHED premiere March 18, 2022 on Apple TV+, with new episodes arriving weekly.
WECRASHED screens at SXSW ’22 as follows:
Mar 12, 20223:30pmâ4:30pm
Mar 13, 9:00am CDT â Mar 15, 9:00am CDT 9:00amâ10:00am
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