In a familiar story about the rise of fall of billionaire entrepreneurs, WeCrashed is an equally fun, appalling and entertaining series, mostly due to the magnetic performances by Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway, who play Adam and Rebecca Naumann, the couple behind overvalued office space company WeWork, which famously plummeted in value after its disastrous IPO.
WeCrashed starts when WeWork's co-founder and CEO Adam Neumann, an Israeli former Naval officer, is called for an emergency meeting at his company. With his head held up high, he oozes confidence while walking in with his wife and business partner Rebekah Neumann.
With that, the eight-episode series takes us back to the very beginning, when Adam was what he liked to call himself "a serial entrepreneur." He was wildly ambitious, and the more ideas he got to build and grow WeWork, the less believable it became — but it's the silliness of it all that makes for such great TV.
Whenever Adam and Rebecca conjure up ideas that are off-the-charts and ridiculous, the music builds, the excitement fills the air, and you sort of root for them just as much as you're rolling your eyes to the back of your skull. Watching co-founder Miguel McKelvey's (Kyle Marvin) level-headed reactions to every curveball they throw are nothing short of a delight on screen. It's these moments that are juicy, engrossing, and a treat to watch as they spiral — always with the knowledge that they're crashing soon.
As in every other role before this, Jared Leto once again disappears into Adam Naumann's skin and is incredibly charming. Sometimes, even without any dialogue, he stares into the distance and you can see his mind working on another outrageous idea. He is incredibly convincing when presenting said ideas, and watching that drama unravel is pure entertainment.
For her part, Hathaway makes Rebecca sympathetic at times. Rebecca stood in the shadows of her cousin Gwyneth Paltrow, failed at becoming an actress, and then even as she helps to run WeWork, she is always sidelined as Adam's wife. But Rebecca's hypocrisy is also apparent, as she is aware that the women in her company are being harassed and underpaid and she doesn't do anything about it. Instead, she continues to worry about her company's mission statement to "elevate the world's consciousness" and strongly demands only vegan meals be served at their company.
The series is not without its faults. It starts off slow and takes more than two episodes to get into it. Since viewers get the first three episode when it airs, that helps to steer them in the right direction. The show also tends to focus on the love story between Adam and Rebecca, and how Adam expanded the company, without detailing the workplace culture that resulted in lawsuits against the company.
WeCrashed plays out as a very a flashy, glam and exceptionally entertaining piece of content, feeling more fictional than the true story it is. WeCrashed also boasts an incredible soundtrack and a score by Christopher Nicholas Bangs, leaving the tunes stuck in your head hours after viewing. Almost every episode is filled with '80s pop vibes that adds to the energy of the show.
The excellent cast is rounded out by O-T Fagbenle as Cameron Lautner and America Ferrera as Alishia Kennedy, while Kyle Marvin manages to stand out even when sharing the screen with Leto.
WeCrashed is as fun as it is shocking, and there's never a dull moment once the series picks up after episode three. It's an unbelievable journey that will have viewers checking at the absurdity of Adam and Rebecca Neumann, and wondering as someone on the show says, "Is he for real?"
(Apple TV+)WeCrashed starts when WeWork's co-founder and CEO Adam Neumann, an Israeli former Naval officer, is called for an emergency meeting at his company. With his head held up high, he oozes confidence while walking in with his wife and business partner Rebekah Neumann.
With that, the eight-episode series takes us back to the very beginning, when Adam was what he liked to call himself "a serial entrepreneur." He was wildly ambitious, and the more ideas he got to build and grow WeWork, the less believable it became — but it's the silliness of it all that makes for such great TV.
Whenever Adam and Rebecca conjure up ideas that are off-the-charts and ridiculous, the music builds, the excitement fills the air, and you sort of root for them just as much as you're rolling your eyes to the back of your skull. Watching co-founder Miguel McKelvey's (Kyle Marvin) level-headed reactions to every curveball they throw are nothing short of a delight on screen. It's these moments that are juicy, engrossing, and a treat to watch as they spiral — always with the knowledge that they're crashing soon.
As in every other role before this, Jared Leto once again disappears into Adam Naumann's skin and is incredibly charming. Sometimes, even without any dialogue, he stares into the distance and you can see his mind working on another outrageous idea. He is incredibly convincing when presenting said ideas, and watching that drama unravel is pure entertainment.
For her part, Hathaway makes Rebecca sympathetic at times. Rebecca stood in the shadows of her cousin Gwyneth Paltrow, failed at becoming an actress, and then even as she helps to run WeWork, she is always sidelined as Adam's wife. But Rebecca's hypocrisy is also apparent, as she is aware that the women in her company are being harassed and underpaid and she doesn't do anything about it. Instead, she continues to worry about her company's mission statement to "elevate the world's consciousness" and strongly demands only vegan meals be served at their company.
The series is not without its faults. It starts off slow and takes more than two episodes to get into it. Since viewers get the first three episode when it airs, that helps to steer them in the right direction. The show also tends to focus on the love story between Adam and Rebecca, and how Adam expanded the company, without detailing the workplace culture that resulted in lawsuits against the company.
WeCrashed plays out as a very a flashy, glam and exceptionally entertaining piece of content, feeling more fictional than the true story it is. WeCrashed also boasts an incredible soundtrack and a score by Christopher Nicholas Bangs, leaving the tunes stuck in your head hours after viewing. Almost every episode is filled with '80s pop vibes that adds to the energy of the show.
The excellent cast is rounded out by O-T Fagbenle as Cameron Lautner and America Ferrera as Alishia Kennedy, while Kyle Marvin manages to stand out even when sharing the screen with Leto.
WeCrashed is as fun as it is shocking, and there's never a dull moment once the series picks up after episode three. It's an unbelievable journey that will have viewers checking at the absurdity of Adam and Rebecca Neumann, and wondering as someone on the show says, "Is he for real?"
