Directors: Nic Stacey
Cast: Jeff Goldblum

Episode One – ‘Sneakers’ Air Date: 19/11/2018
The World According to Jeff Goldblum is currently streaming on Disney+ with the first three episodes available.

In recent years Jeff Goldblum has become something of an internet favourite thanks to his eccentric interviews and red carpet appearances. I’m not sure exactly when his popularity to internet meme took off, but it feels like it was around the same point as Thor: Ragnarok in which he starred as the eccentric villain, The Grandmaster. Now he stars in the documentary series The World According To Jeff Goldblum which launched with Disney+. 

In the premiere episode, Goldblum explores the sneaker industry and the bigger market for exclusive and collectable shoes from events like Sneaker-Con where hundreds of thousands of dollars are trading hands. Goldblum then makes his way to Addidas headquarters, a Youtubers home and meets with The Shoe Surgeon, a renowned custom sneaker maker to produce a customer pair for Jeff. 

There’s little learned in the episode and as much fun as Jeff may be to watch as a host, he ‘s not a very good interviewer. As a documentary, this episode sets up The World According to Jeff Goldblum to be of little interest. However, as a window into Jeff Goldblum memes, it’s sure to be a success.

After watching the episode I Googled ‘The Shoe Surgeon’ and found an interesting piece VICE had done on the surgeon Dominic Chambrone that was widely more insightful into the custom sneaker business and the collecting of them than this episode was. 

There are some interesting questions laid out in the episode. Why do people spend such ridiculous amounts of money on shoes? Why do people buy them just to collect them on shelves? Is it consumerism at its finest or is there something else to it? None of which are tackled in a meaningful manner.