Viewed in
2010
Premise
Part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series, a documentary about NFL player Ricky Williams, during his abrupt retirement and pariah phase.
Liked
The honesty of the interviews.
Thoughts
It was pretty interesting.
I learned a lot about his past, and I appreciated the unfiltered interviews over the five year span from Williams and the people around him. As a sports fan, I try to not get caught up on athletes' personal lives. So while watching this documentary, it was enlightening to see his personality and hear his unusual philosophies in life.
As the documentarians pointed out, this was a "five year odyssey". It was quite interesting to watch Williams evolve and mature over that period of time. In addition, the people around him also change their attitudes towards him. My favorite part was when they interviewed a fan who hated Williams when he retired, then they found the same fan when he returned to the NFL, and caught her wearing a Williams jersey.
Similar to the Allen Iverson documentary, I never really followed the mainstream media's attitude towards Ricky Williams. So my views of him did not dramatically change. Life is usually not black-or-white. And like life, Ricky Williams was more than just a pothead.
What I would change
There was one annoying shot that was pretentiously out of focus. Instead of focusing on the subject talking, it blurred him out, but the bookshelf behind him was crisp.
