Apple TV+'s They Call Me Magic has a Magic Johnson problem

The Hollywood Reporter

Rick Famuyiwa’s four-part docuseries on the L.A. Lakers icon "has a big, ultimately crushing problem and, unfortunately, that problem is Earvin 'Magic' Johnson," says Daniel Fienberg. "Blessed with a smile that has lit up Tinseltown for four-plus decades, Magic has a personality that’s a big part of why he has remained so beloved. However, as anybody who watched his short-lived talk show The Magic Hour knows, what projected on the hardwood and in board meetings and even in public appearances doesn’t always come through the screen. Magic picks and chooses his moments, and there are times in They Call Me Magic when he’s a lively and specific storyteller. But there are just as many times, especially in the overlong doc’s second half, when he becomes evasive and drained of both enthusiasm and interest."

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• The interesting thing about They Call Me Magic is that it’s not reliant on game footage or analysis of a hook shot: "In fact, I would bet that the person with the second most interview time after Magic himself is Candy Johnson, his wife," says Brian Tallerico. "It makes you think about the title a little differently. It’s not 'My Name is Magic.' It’s They Call Me Magic because this project is more about Earvin."
• They Call Me Magic is hurt by the dearth of basketball clips: "Perhaps it’s afraid of alienating those with little knowledge of a game that, because it is high-scoring and based on gradually asserted supremacy rather than spectacular moments, is hard to sum up in clips," says Jack Seale. "Combine basketball’s opacity with the blandly pleasant positivity of the interviewees, and you have a documentary where everything seems to just happen naturally."
• They Call Me Magic feels like a tonic compared to the cheeky, cynical tone of Winning Time