MoviePass, MovieCrash

This is probably one of the most infamous company downfalls in recent history, and it's a great story to tell; yet I wanted more.

There are a lot of talking heads with different perspectives, including most of the former board members; yet I feel I didn't see the whole picture.

We are told how the original team came to be and the rise of what would've been considered the standard for movie going experiences. A proper subscription service where you can see any film, any theater anytime. Ideal and I think it would've been a good thing to continue. ESP with cinemas becoming less valued these days.

We saw the back and forth between AMC, investors.

We then switch once the newer CEO's come in Remove the founders and begin a campaign that would eventually crush themselves under their own weight.

While I was engaged and enjoyed the breezy feel of this doc I felt like there was things left unsaid. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what Maybe they had NDA's they couldn't break at the moment.

Mitch Lowe comes across as a man who simply made mistakes, far from it. Pure slime along with Ted Farnsworth.

The ultimate revelation comes in when it's revealed that this was a fraud scheme from the get go.

And how they let the system go down while embezzling funds from the venture capital group.

But by the time we get to the meat of what went wrong, it's over.

Maybe it really was a, what you see is what you get.

I don't know. I feel that they stretched it out more than what was needed. And more could've been said on what the core of movie pass was. How the software worked and why they didn't hire more staff.

Worth a watch, but don't expect a huge revelation from it. More of a cliff notes of history.

As "MoviePass MovieCrash" (2024 release; 91 min.) opens, we are introduced to various key players of the original MoviePass project. It is 2016, 5 years after the start of MoviePass, and the company is making a bold move in order to grow its subscriber bas: unlimited movies, anytime, anywhere, for $9.95/mth. At this point we are less than 10 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from director Muta'Ali ("Cassius X: Becoming Ali"). Here he brings two stories in one: the rise and fall of MoviePass, a story known by many; and then there is this: did you know that MoviePass was in fact founded by two African-American guys? I didn't. And what happened to these guys? We get the full picture in this revealing documentary. This documentary reminds us of two correlating points: if something sounds too god to be true, it probably is; and corporate greed is alive and well. Mark Walhberg is credited as a co-producer.

"MoviePass, MovieCrash" premiered at this year's SXSW festival, to immediate critical acclaim. The documentary is now airing on HBO and its streaming platform Max, where I saw it the other day. It is currently rated 88% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and for good reason. If you are in the mood for a documentary that goes well beyond the rise and fall of MoviePass, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

A crisply edited, easy to follow documentary tracing the inception, initial years, popular explosion and subsequent implosion of an innovative business model within the film industry ecosystem. Candid interviews with almost all of the key personalities make for a very interesting story that tells the all-too-familiar saga of how a single business proposition can evolve in all manner of unexpected directions based on the individual goals and ideas of whoever is at the helm of a business at any given point in its evolution. Those interested in general business practices and/or movies in general are likely to be highly engaged.

I had a membership to moviepass in 2017? I think. I remember thinking it was the greatest thing. I belonged to it for like 3 months and only saw 1 or 2 movies. They got my money! Lol

This ran a little long. It was over an hour and a half and could've been shortened to an hour and still kept the important details in it. Most documentaries are like that though.

I had to roll my eyes when they discussed the two founding members being black and that that was a reason for them being fired. I understand having that thrown in because this was made during the early 2020's and that's when race and gender was all anyone talked about. It wasn't necessary for the overall message of the documentary.

I was an original MoviePass subscriber and from day one I always wondered how can this business model be sustainable. Unfortunately this doc confirms what I knew. It wasn't. The whole story is fascinating because it was such a great idea. But the view the doc takes tries to make it seem like the two founders of the business (who were removed before it all blew up) were visionaries whose grand business model was ruined by others. They definitely were screwed but the notion that the business would have succeeded if they stayed on is preposterous. It was never going to work. Good intentions I guess but utterly unrealistic dreams. And as an OG subscriber I don't feel ripped off. It was great while it lasted but as they say nothing that good lasts forever. Worth a watch but probably only if you were a subscriber or knew something about it.