- Network: HBO
- Series Premiere Date: Feb 2, 2021
Critic Reviews
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In some ways, it’s very Black Mirror, but in other ways it’s kind of silly where the real victims are the PR firms and companies so desperate to make a sale that they can’t even distinguish if their potential customers are real or fake anymore. To Bilton’s credit, he also acknowledges that the influencer culture is not just one thing, and that while it may be built on dubious engagement, there are other times where activists have used the platform to try and effect change. Furthermore, why it’s sad that so many young people want to be famous, there’s a “same as it ever was” element to that desperation.
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Fake Famous offers a novel window into the world of influencers, conducting an experiment to see if three young wannabes can be transformed into marketing dynamos. While their tales don't unfold entirely as planned, the HBO documentary exposes how ripe for manipulation this whole culture is, and the powerful incentives to game the system.
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Occasionally the film, with its buzzy vibe, felt as superficial as the industry it was sending up. Yet it was entertaining.
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Despite the fact that there are some very funny and weirdly satisfying aspects of Fake Famous, it somehow seems incomplete. ... Instead of trying to find new people willing to go with the experiment, he essentially concentrated on Dominique leaning into the experience. Yes, the social experiment still worked, but we would have liked to have seen more examples of it working than just a single person.
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Nothing in the three portraits of Bilton's aspiring social media superstars comes close to the nuance and empathy in a documentary like Jawline, which did a much better job of blending "You're so old!" informational aspects for the geriatric (anybody older than millennial) audience and actual relatability for younger viewers. ... I was engaged, but completely unconvinced by Fake Famous.