Mark Wahlberg is not the first celebrity to take part in a reality show, or “documentary” for a classier-sound, depicting aspects of their lives that serve as entertainment and self-serving promotion for their various projects. In fact, Shaquille O’Neal dropped his, called Shaq Life, the same month just a year earlier. To do this successfully, you have to be correctly arrogant enough to assume that anyone cares about what you do outside of what you’re famous for. You also have to have enough interesting content to fill what in this case is six 30-minute episodes for HBO MAX. While the pandemic has been devastating, it does provide the “perfect storm” to help Wahl Street satisfy that second condition.
Wahlberg himself has a fascinating past as a guy who overcame a tough upbringing and a string of poor decisions in his youth to eventually reinvent himself as an undeniably talented actor, despite Hollywood’s attempt to dismiss him early on. This show, however, is not going to delve into any of that, even though some knowledge of where he came from would create a greater sense of empathy or admiration for how we find him now. Instead, Wahlberg talks about how, while he sometimes feels that he would be better off just going back to focusing on acting, he enjoys being a bit of a “renaissance man.” He’s involved in businesses that he’s passionate about and believes in, and those that are an extension of who he is. So, this is pitched as him wanting to share that, and inspire young entrepreneurs to overcome the fear they might have and, “figure out how to do it, and go out and make it happen.” Whether you believe that or not, each episode does showcase what it takes to juggle his various endeavors. A sort of TED Talk, if you will.
It would be easy to dismiss any success that he has in business as being simple name recognition, and he even mentions a few times how much growth has occurred for the company Wahlburgers or the fitness studio F45 just because he was involved. There are plenty of well-known people that have tried and failed in business ventures, however, and many more than those who are only involved as far as capital and their name. You see through the episodes that he approaches things very differently; unlike the other guys, he’s quite involved, and his skills of managing time effectively and surrounding himself with knowledgeable people are impressive.
Those people that we meet on the show aren’t the entourage we are familiar with. In the first episode, he lays out the eight most prominent companies that he’s involved with and then the series really focuses on four — Wahlburgers, Unrealistic Ideas (which produces this show), F45, and the clothing brand Municipal. Juggling that much responsibility, you’re going to need smart people in your corner that can offer advice, including UFC President Dana White, Shark Tank’s Daymond John, and the Founder and CEO of ActOne Group, Janice Bryant Howroyd. As she puts it, “Success is transferable, if you put the work in and honor what you don’t know.” That’s what Wahlberg is depicted doing throughout, and it seemed to be going quite well right up until the pandemic derailed things.
Things could have been interesting enough watching him balance business with his movie career. During the show we see him attend the premiere for Spenser Confidential, record a voiceover for Scoob!, and leave to film the upcoming films Infinite and the long-awaited Uncharted. It never seemed like following that aspect of his life was the plan though, so while he’s on location, the focus is on the time that he’s spending off the set, taking phone calls and meetings. That may have proven to be a tough sell for some, even with the clever transitions into scenes from some of his films when the emotions fit, if not for the added drama that the coronavirus provides.
With the timelines that are being filmed, you know what is coming, and casual snippets of news coverage on the radio hint at what we will see play out in the last two episodes. What was projected to be a million-dollar first-month launch for Municipal turns into tough decisions when a large financier pulls out. All Wahlburger and F45 locations have to temporarily shut down, and Mark is forced to rethink his future opportunities while understanding that nobody is invincible during a crisis like this. You may not feel incredibly bad for a guy who seems to have all the money in the world, with legitimate golf holes in the back of his mansion, but you can appreciate the stress he’s under while trying to keep things from unraveling.
He understands the greater impact that the virus could have on the partners that work with him, who all seem to be really likable and highly intelligent. The most authentic moments of the show, other than him dealing with the adorable family dog that’s a bit of an asshole, are during Zoom calls with these individuals, expressing real emotions. While we may not be able to relate to the guy that’s waking up at 2:30 a.m. to work out in his hotel suite that’s been converted into a personal gym, we can sympathize with someone that’s being looked at to provide answers when there are no easy ones.
While Wahl Street may not be the big hit that he hopes it is for everyone, it does provide some interesting insight into what it has been like for business owners trying to operate and stay afloat over the last year. It’s not a series for anyone wanting to get a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to be an actor, and it really doesn’t even offer more than a single faceted look at who Mark Wahlberg is. It’s all business, and that’s its focus–take it or leave it. He and HBO have had a very profitable relationship, so they’ll probably continue to take it, although it will be interesting to see if the show proceeds almost entirely as self-promotion, or if it shifts to offer something more personal. If nothing else, the clothing line actually looks pretty great.
Wahl Street is currently streaming on HBO MAX.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRpHyvuJ__A
