‘They Call Me Magic’ — Apple TV Plus Review
The Call Me Magic is a brand-new documentary series that dives deep into the life of NBA superstar Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who led the L.A. Lakers to five championships in the 80s.
Directed by Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), edited by Dirk Westervelt (Ford V Ferrari), and shot by cinematographer Rachel Morrison (Black Panther), all four episodes were first screened at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March. They are now available to stream on Apple TV Plus. Thank you to Apple for letting us see it in advance so we could have our review ready.
As far as sports docuseries go, the king is of course The Last Dance, by Netflix, the ten-part series released in 2020 that focused on the career of Michael Jordan. They Call Me Magic is nothing like The Last Dance, nor is it trying to be. The first two episodes of Apple TV Plus’ documentary focus on Johnson’s basketball career, from his high school days to his NBA ventures and the rivalry with Larry Bird. It also contextualizes really well his relationship with Cookie, the love of his life with whom Johnson initiated a romantic relationship at 18.
The two of them were on and off for many years, but if one thing is clear by the end is that Magic always loved her, which is the most important thing. She is the heart of the documentary, no doubt about it. In the first two episodes, Famuyiwa and his team explore the following question: what is it like for one of the most talented guys in the country, with one of the most infectious personalities and contagious smiles you will find, to be under an exorbitant amount of pressure?
We got to explore, in full detail, all of Magic’s life. From his big family to his team and what basketball meant to him. How he was the first pick in the drafts, and then was seen as the key for the Lakers to finally win an NBA championship. The Lakers signing Magic, as portrayed by the documentary, could have been the single most important event in the NBA. The competition was losing viewers every season in a row, and was struggling to keep the public’s attention.
But once Magic got on the team, and money started flowing thanks to the new owner, Jerry Buss, it resuscitated. And it wasn’t just the money, it was also Magic’s personality that took over the sport. He was always portrayed in public smiling and laughing, having a great time. And that then translated into the court, where he dominated the game on many occasions.
The documentary also goes out of its way to make us understand that there are two personalities living inside Earvin “Magic” Johnson. There is Earvin, a thoughtful and reserved guy who only a handful of people really know, and there is Magic, the superstar who appears on television and we see on the basketball court, winning over the crowds wherever he goes to play.
They Call Me Magic is also coincidentally released at the same time HBO Max is airing their own take on the Lakers in the 1980s with their star-studded Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. The two are a really good combination actually, so if you’ve been watching Winning Time, I highly encourage you to check out They Call Me Magic. There is also really good overlapping with The Last Dance, as we see when Michael Jordan gets into the picture in the late 80s/early 90s.
The stream of guests in the show is really outstanding. From Johnson himself to Michael Jordan or Larry Bird, to former President Barack Obama, Jimmy Kimmel, and even Anthony Fauci, the number of people that show up in the documentary is unbelievable. I got really excited every time someone I was familiar with popped up… and that happened a lot. And even though I’ve just listed some of them, believe me, there are a lot of surprise guests I was not expecting.
The documentary took a turn in the third episode. If you were alive in the 90s, especially in the U.S., or you are at all familiar with Magic’s life, you probably know about a certain virus he was diagnosed with in 1991 that forced him to retire from professional basketball. Episode 3 deals with how he and his family coped with his health issues, and how that didn’t stop him from joining the Dream Team in the 1992 Olympics or even coming back to the NBA for a short period of time right after that.
The fourth episode deals with Magic’s life after basketball, and how he became a business entrepreneur. Johnson is seen as the sole responsible for bringing movie theaters into undeveloped neighborhoods in L.A., where the whole moviegoing experience of that city came to be, with people interacting live with the movie by screaming at the screen, cheering, and clapping. He brought the cultural experience to people that didn’t have anything before, by making a huge gamble on them, and he won. He then took Starbucks out of New York and put it in L.A., basically initiating the company’s expansion. And like that, he helped a lot of other businesses.
But at the center of it all, there was always his family. His wife and children take the front line in the last few minutes of the docuseries, to remind the audience that this is the most important thing in his life. They Call Me Magic is an excellent exploration of a man who is much more layered than I thought going in. Not only is he a very interesting personality to explore, and the documentary achieves that, but he was also a pioneer in many different aspects of our current lives. And in fact, he continues to be.
The documentary series is now available to stream on Apple TV Plus. Thanks again for letting us see it in advance.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
