by Samuel Nichols, Contributing Writer
YouTubers can be the scum of the earth. They are an obnoxious, annoying lot who flood my recommended section of the home YouTube page with stuff like, “UNBELIEVABLE PRANK” and “DRAMA IN THE HYPE HOUSE!!!” when all I want is to watch the highlights of the Suns-Celtics game from the last night. But the money some of these punks make by doing absolute nonsense in front of a camera is insane. With the money from those views comes fame and influence amongst a vast audience that spans from 12-year-olds on their iPads to corporations trying to get them to sell their stuff. Jake Paul is one of those YouTubers.
In the latest Untold documentary from Netflix, we follow the story of Paul from Vine star, to YouTube sensation, to professional boxer. The young man from Ohio wants you to think this is some kind of rags to riches story, and in a lot of ways it is. He worked hard to get into the boxing world, and he did a lot of crazy stuff to get as many followers and subscribers. There’s a lot of pressure that comes with that — the kind of things you deal with when you’re that famous on the internet does something to you. That’s what this documentary is about: what’s fame doing to Jake Paul?
Alright, I’ve done my best trying to philosophize about this guy. Honestly, I can only watch a documentary about a YouTuber for so long before I can’t take him seriously anymore. Netflix is gunning for the usual documentary stuff: truth, unfiltered truth. And you will never get that from Paul as a narrator. As much as I do think what he’s done as an athlete is impressive, people say or do anything for clicks. So the air of honesty around his answers feels forced. It’s like he’s seen The Last Dance one too many times and thought he needed that as a 26-year-old. But he’s not ready to look back on his life that way.
There are some real characters in this flick who don’t strike me as the most honest people either. The main other two subjects are Jake’s brother, Logan, and his father, Greg. Logan is plenty famous in is own right, but he got the whole world to hate him back in early 2018 with his Japanese suicide forest video. So while his career isn’t in shambles, Logan has always struck me as someone with far less to lose. So he lets it rip. He calls his brother crazy, but in the same breath says he supports him. That’s a good interview. Someone like Greg has years of life experience on his sons, but has no concept of their fame beyond their ability to give him money if he needs it. So his time on screen feels wasted and fake.
Or maybe his lack of knowledge on the matter is the point of this documentary. How did Jake Paul get so famous? Why is he still famous? Does anyone really know really? I would argue Paul knows, and it’s his crazy ability to do just about anything on camera that’s keeping him relevant. I appreciate that he’s leaned into and is actually trying something that’s up his alley. Best of luck to him in his fight this week.
Rating: Liked it
Untold – Jake Paul: The Problem Child is currently streaming on Netflix
You can read more from Samuel Nichols, and follow him on Twitter and Letterboxd