A new documentary on the band Wham! shows the 'temporal nature of youth'

https://www.npr.org/2023/07/05/ [login to see] /netflix-wham-documentary-george-michael-andrew-ridgeley
The pop duo Wham! dominated radio and television in the 1980s with feel-good, fun-loving hits that provided an antidote to the bleak outlook of the Cold War.

Now, a new Netflix documentary titled "Wham!" looks at how George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley formed a teenage friendship and went on to create one of the most distinct sounds of the post-Disco era.

The film by director Chris Smith is a personal take that often relies on footage and audio the two recorded themselves. Ridgeley's mother kept scrapbooks of their rise, as well, starting with when they became inseparable in high school.

"The whole movie was about this temporal nature of youth. It's something that is so beautiful, but it can't be sustained," said Chris Smith.

The documentary interweaves existing footage and audio of Michael (who died in 2016) with current interviews of Ridgeley.