Watching The World According To Jeff Goldblum is a lot like watching Shia LaBeouf livestream his reactions to marathoning his own oeuvre, from Man Down to The Even Stevens Movie. Whatever else is happening on screen is besides the point—the real focus is the response, however outsize or charming it may be. There are certainly some interesting factoids and behind-the-scenes looks sprinkled throughout this new docuseries from Jeff Goldblum and fellow executive producer Jane Root, including a trip to the laboratory of “Shoe Surgeon” Dominic Ciambrone. But as the title (and series announcement) suggests, this show is less about putting the world on a platter for viewers, and more about filtering it through Goldblum’s Goldblum-ness, i.e., unadulterated zeal for just about everything.
Premiering November 12, The World According To Jeff Goldblum is part of Disney+’s inaugural programming slate. It’s a step up from the blatant self-promotion of a new series like The Imagineering Story, which will also be available next week. After all, Goldblum is a veteran of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which was only recently snatched up by the maw of Mouse, and therefore might not fully be a company man just yet. Still, there’s nothing revolutionary or all that exciting about The World According To Jeff Goldblum. Aside from its marquee host, TWATJG could be any of a number of the mostly bland, curiosity-stoking series that make up National Geographic’s schedule (which makes sense, given that it’s produced by National Geographic Studios and Nutopia).
Each episode is devoted to a single, broad topic: sneakers, ice cream, tattoos, and denim, to name a few (of the ones explored in the four episodes made available for review). The approach to every installment is holistic; Goldblum opens with a customized voiceover, experts are consulted, experiments are executed, then the host muses in winning fashion in interstitials. The first episode, which is devoted to sneakers, begins with a visit to a convention, turns into a lesson on unboxing videos, and wraps with Goldblum waxing poetic in what’s become his signature fashion. The World According To Jeff Goldblum does look great, thanks to solid camerawork and the kind of whimsical animated graphs and sequences that have been used to make sprawling points on heavily researched talk shows. The show frequently pauses to let Goldblum take in all the new info—the six-figure bids at vintage denim auctions, learning that he’s a “bopper”—and reminisce on his personal connections to these subjects. But Goldblum also knows when to yield the floor to trailblazers and icons like Shanghai Kate and Archie Kalepa, even if he can’t quite keep himself from mugging in his reaction shots.
Although it’s obvious the actor/jazz musician and his camera crew are granted greater access than most inquisitive folks into places like Adidas’ sport science department, there’s very little here that couldn’t be found out through some deep Googling. But, like Goldblum, The World According To Jeff Goldblum is also self-aware—the show relies on the host’s abiding fascination for everything from ice cream to his fans’ obsession with him to drive the action, such as it is. “We’re like a couple of sticks. This may be combustible,” Goldblum tells a similarly keyed-up Brit Eaton, as they go hunting for some discarded denim. We could easily look up Eaton’s finds, but we’re not likely to find such unremitting delight in the search as on The World According To Jeff Goldblum.
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This headline suggests that there are times where Jeff Goldblum is at his least Jeff Goldblum, which does not seem possible. There are no degrees of Jeff Goldblum. There is no off switch on Jeff Goldblum. There is no dial either. People have checked. Jeff Goldblum is always maximum Jeff Goldblum, because he simply cannot be Diet Jeff Goldblum. Mountains and oceans don’t have off days, and the tone of this article should reflect that.
Jeff Goldblum is always at 11
More on this story at 11.
Jeff Goldblum IS.
The episode of Conan O’Brien needs a friend (podcast) with him is simply delightful for that reason. He is at peak Goldblum and him and Conan seem to genuinely enjoy each other’s company.
But Chaos Theory?
I dunno, I think he was at his most Goldblumiest in Thor: Ragnarok. I mean, he even got to work in his weird jazz.
I have an old friend who in many ways resembles Jeff Goldblum. He’s best partaken of in small doses, bow tie and all.
Community had this figured out a decade ago:
Score is a C+, but the review seems to describe more of a B/B+ show. I.e., in the “good” rather than “bad” range, but not particularly remarkable. Fair to say that one’s personal score is heavily dependent on one’s appreciation of Goldblum’s schtick?
I’m thinking that’s the case — it is definitely going to appeal or not depending on one’s interest in the host.
The description makes it sound like a solid execution of what they’re going for. What they’re going for could never be an A, but anything that achieves its goal should be above a C+.
Jeff Goldblum, uh, finds a way!
I want to find a way for him to smuggle me that Specialized he’s riding in the header image. That’s a $12,000 bike.
I only get bikes cheap enough that I don’t mind when they get stolen.
I’d definitely think twice about one that would require its own insurance policy.
I only get bikes expensive enough that they’re worth the effort of me stealing them.
Oh look, it’s that weird little troll guy who really gets off on made up celebrity gossip. Ironically enough he assured everyone that Jussie Smollet has actually been attacked even after the truth came out, so you can imagine the level of batshit crazy.
Oh look, it’s that petty mad guy who gets unreasonably enraged whenever men are called upon to be responsible for their actions and who uses the Jussie Smollett case as a cudgel to disbelieve any and all other victims
Ah the “it’s on Twitter therefore it is true” news.
Also according to Twitter: Trump is the man and has 95% approval rating.:eyeroll:
Yeah, it’d be crazy if a really famous male celebrity turned out to be a serial creeper. Who ever heard of that happening, huh?
My stance in the me too era is two-fold: 1. Without an accusation I don’t judge. If someone accuses I pay attention, but I don’t listen to rumours or gossip. 2. Where’s there’s smoke, there’s fire. I don’t ignore one accusation, but I don’t push for punishment with just one. Rack up a few, establish a history and then you have my full attention.So let’s see if anyone accuses Goldblum before we start looking at him sideways based on nothing tweets.
Pretty reasonable!
I’ve no idea what to think about the Jeff Goldblum thing, but the “Where there’s smoke there’s fire” phrase has confused me for decades, because I’ve smoked a cigarette without bursting in to flames many a time.
How did you light the cigarette? Can’t get smoke without something burning. Small fire, still fire.
Nicole Cliffe is probably a spotty person to be speaking to this. Having said that, if you look through the replies to her tweets there are some personal stories of him being kind of a creep, like insistently getting the number of a woman he met at yoga from the studio (after she had declined to give it to him in person), and apparently groping someone’s friend’s ass during a fan photo. Not saying he’s definitively “cancelled” but it’s worth talking about and looking into. I hope some journalist looks into and sees if there is more to it.
Agreed. If someone directly says “Jeff Goldblum did this to me”, I think we should listen. If it’s someone tweeting “I definitely heard something from someone, but what it is I’ll keep to myself for now” then I think we need to be a little sceptical. Before he died, there were some second-hand accusations against Stan Lee which I believe turned out to be a nursing agency just trying to get some money out of it.
Have no trouble believing any of this. His whole brand is inappropriately close contact with women. I love Debra Winger’s quote about him- “I’m not susceptible to his gamma rays”. I, too, have never understood the appeal. And before I get spammed with that creepy Jurassic Park-too-much-male-cleavage-and-jheri-curl-oil picture, yes, I don’t get it even after seeing that picture.
Plot twist: she’s talking about Joff Geldblum.
I like the comment about how this is one of the few Disney+ nonfiction shows not to be promoting Disney brands; it does kind of stick out that way. I think the most memorable thing to come out of the D23 convention weekend — at least it was the one thing that was memed — was the clip of him being asked on the promo carpet about the Disney-Sony Spider-Man rights spat and his clearly being unaware of what that was about and just going off on a tangent to compensate.
Ah, yes. Well, m hmm ah you see.
Ah, the LETTER two!
To be fair..with Anthony Bourdain’s passing and Bizarre Foods with Andrew Ziimern seemingly on an indefinite hiatus..there is a market opening on being the next celebrity/traveler/food taster/waxer on all things philosophic…and Jeff Goodblum thinks he can be the next Bourdain. He certainly has the name and the quirkiness.
shouldn’t that be “at his most jeff goldblumiest?”
A show about denim is JUST above a show about literally nothing.I like Goldblum as much as the rest of us, but the inclusion of a series like this is a head-scratcher. Our family is waiting to get Disney+ until there are more new shows we can binge, and it doesn’t sound like this is one we will do so with.
*beside the point [not “besides”]*The World According to Jeff Goldblum [Don’t capitalize “to.”]
Or leave it all fucked up. Nobody else seems to care whether things are correctly written; why should you?
I read this whole page in Jeff Goldblum’s voice.It took a whole hour.
But you, uh, found a way?