Going against the grain with this one as it’s clearly a success (currently number one on Amazon Prime) but one quick binge-watch of Molly-Mae Behind It All didn’t really give me any substance of note to recommend this one, and here’s why.
This Amazon Prime documentary is very much a ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ motto-driven doc as Molly-Mae and her hubby Tommy Fury are going through a breakup despite a cheeky recent New Year’s smooch.
I’ve never seen Love Island, I’m not invested in either of them despite respecting and admiring their success but when watching any documentary you need to connect to the key figures that are focused within it and with this one I sadly just couldn’t connect.
What plays out as three episodes of break-up drama there is a chemistry still there between Molly-Mae and Tommy and it’s a chemistry worth saving. The entire documentary is focused on her reaction to the breakup but is littered with contradicting scenes of her embracing being a single mum in one clip and then uncertain of what the future holds and doubting her initial decision of splitting with Tommy the next referring the family dynamic of parents being together.
For me, it’s clear to see that this documentary was made in a very strange time for Molly-Mae and it comes across as a bit all over the place and whilst it may be compelling viewing for those drama addicts and gossip-rag surveyors out there, I just don’t think watching this poor girl go through a breakup is my kind of compelling TV.
Sadly the world we live in today is very nosey and drama fuels social media where people become so fixated on other people’s lives that they forget to live their own. This documentary has its audience in abundance out there but I’m not entirely sure if it should have one.
Having your relationship played out in the public eye is one thing, having your break-up playing out in the public eye is a whole different kettle of fish.
More episodes are scheduled for later in the year and without knowing either Molly-Mae’s or Tommy’s story personally beyond what’s depicted in this documentary it feels quite clear to me there will be some reconciliation there between them.
What played out on screen was Molly-Mae laying down the law with the ‘be a man, be a father, grow your ass up and get your shit together’ vibe and then MAYBE we can see what the future holds. It never felt final and there is still a connection there between them just waiting to be rekindled.
There are cliffhangers, loose statements and more which are glaringly obvious to me the viewer that the door is open for a reconciliation to be had. Tommy’s drinking antics were mentioned quite frequently but there’s still a wall up emotionally within this ‘behind the scenes’ doc that doesn’t give you the ‘behind it all’ glimpse whatsoever.
An illusion is created within this documentary, an illusion of openness and a behind-the-scenes tell-all look but after the final episode comes to a close you may have hooked in the nosey viewers looking for gossip but the show very much plays its cards much closer to its chest.
It’s guarded, it’s hidden, and it’s not tying up the loose ends but merely letting them dangle and inviting viewers to once again make their own conclusions on things just as they would have done had this documentary never been made.
Nothing is explained in detail, and nothing new is learned for the die-hard fans to indulge in and for me, that makes the documentary fall flat when it detaches me from the core subject and doesn’t explain anything new worth investing in as a viewer.
Molly-Mae’s PR certainly should have a director credit in this (if they don’t already) it feels very PR curated and as anyone who has worked with a PR before will know, it’s never entirely your personality on display, it’s never 100% you. It’s a media-friendly and sneakily curated side of you that makes you look good and for that reason and that reason alone, there’s a level of gloss on this particular show that just holds it back from being entirely authentic with her fans.
Molly-Mae Behind it All is well produced and it does keep you invested in what comes next scenario but as the title suggests, Mae-By it’s worth a skip because there really isn’t much here of substance for the die-hard fans but there’s plenty of substance here for the nosey bastards out there to click play on.
Our Rating
Summary
Molly-Mae Behind it All is well produced and it does keep you invested in what comes next scenario but as the title suggests, Mae-By it’s worth a skip because there really isn’t much here of substance for the die-hard fans but there’s plenty of substance here for the nosey bastards out there ahead of what I suspect (just from watching this doc) an inevitable reunion with Tommy Fury.
It’s not a documentary that is necessarily bad (far from infact) it just doesn’t feel needed.
