This formulaic documentary focuses on the individuals swindled by the multilevel marketing company known for leggings, LuLaRoe.
In 2013, Mark and DeAnne Stidham founded LuLaRoe, a multilevel marketing company specializing in the sale of women’s clothing — namely “buttery soft” leggings in bold prints. According to The Wall Street Journal, LuLaRoe grew to a business generating $2.3 billion in retail sales in the span of four years thanks to its ever-increasing team of “retailers” who were mostly mothers seduced by the promise of financial success that could be reaped by buying and selling LuLaRoe merchandise from the comfort of their homes. In short, the company was a pyramid scheme.
“The Rise and Fall of LuLaRoe” is essentially a documentary version of a 2020 investigative report by the BuzzFeed News writer Stephanie McNeal. Produced in association with BuzzFeed Studios, it’s a redundant effort given Amazon’s recent mini-series, “LulaRich,” though at least it’s less of a time commitment.
“LuLaRoe” follows the template of most scandal-laden investigative documentaries, like the competing 2019 Fyre Festival exposes, “Fyre” (Netflix) and “Fyre Fraud” (Hulu), or Alex Gibney’s “The Inventor,” about Theranos and its former CEO Elizabeth Holmes.
It begins with a montage that jumps from enthusiastic retailers touting the benefits of the LuLaRoe lifestyle to footage from the 2020 trial of the Stidhams. The rest fills in what comes between these two points, with a particular focus on the individuals victimized and brainwashed by the company, many of whom are interviewed, along with experts on entrepreneurship, linguistics and cults.
One could go on about the fraudulent American dream that LuLaRoe represents — a sort of up-by-the-bootstraps mentality with a social media assist and the ideals of women’s empowerment, all of which are taken advantage of by manipulative crooks.
But unless you’re really hankering for a visual component and video testimonies, you’d be better off simply reading the article than watching this thoroughly formulaic explainer.
The Rise and Fall of LuLaRoe
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes. Watch on Discovery+.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
