If, like me, you’re avoiding the summer heat and humidity by catching up with films released earlier this year? I’m here to separate the worthy from the time-sucks.

“At one time, there was this really positive group of people who were just trying to make moviegoing easier. And [what happened to Moviepass after Lowe and Farnsworth took over is] really an example of, Iike, corporate greed, and what that can do to people, and to a company.”

Genre: Documentaries That Suck You IN
Release Date: 2024
Where I Watched: HBO Films/MAX

Gist: Remember MoviePass? That app in the ’10s that’d let you see “any movie, any time” for less than ten bucks a month? And how that company crashed hard, like we all expected it would? Turns out there’s a whole lot more to this story than it’s too-good-to-be-true facade…

Gotta say: Yes, I decided to watch this documentary because I am a nosy little bitch. I remember hearing about MoviePass back in the day, and figuring there had to be a catch somewhere. Turns out, there wasn’t one…well, at least at first. But then the app would crash, Terms of Service would change almost daily, and everything went kaput. Nowadays, MoviePass is back up, but how? I needed to know! And this doc gave me the skinny.

To be fair, MM starts out as a bit of a slog. Interviewees need to be introduced, backgrounds need to be laid out, and so on. In fact, less than a half hour in, I was thisclose to jumping to another film. I’m glad I didn’t, because hoo boy, the dish here is delicious. To quote Stefon, this doc has everything: white people crowding out black founders (honey, I could go on and on about just this, but the doc does it better) , blowout parties on the company dime, and “new management” who seem to have a very tenuous grip on the ol’ skills and abilities section of a resume. It’s fascinating. And, with the way original founders Stacy Spikes and Hamet Watt got kicked to the curb, it might make you mad.

Director Muta’Ali comes with all the info on everyone involved, the company itself, and how MoviePass was slated to become the next big thing. Y’know, until it wasn’t. Muta’Ali gathers the big names, along with other former members of the company, and a few users of the app. The director lets everyone say their piece, and along with stock and subscriber details, network news bites, and social media snippets, gives viewers a look at how the company burned itself down.

It’s heartbreaking to watch as Spikes and Watts talk about how their stock shares went from thousands to pennies, thanks to a “golden parachute” that didn’t allow them to cash out until it was much too late. Former employees and investors speak about how excited they were to become a part of this, only to find they’d wasted precious time and/or money.

It’s nice to see that after all this, Spikes has bought back MoviePass, and is running it well. Meanwhile, grifters (ALLEGEDLY) Ted Farnsworth and Mitch Lowe, who both took over the company and ran it into the ground, are awaiting trial. Yeah yeah, spoilers. But this is a documentary, so are they really? And trust me, after watching what happens to this promising company, I think you’ll need to know things aren’t completely bleak.

Come for: A tantalizing peek at an infamously messy corporate bonfire.
Stay for: A look at the OG company before things went south, and a wrapup that’ll give you warm fuzzies.