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![NextImg:Stream It Or Skip It: ‘UNTOLD: Jake Paul The Problem Child’ on Netflix, a Look at the YouTube Star Turned Pro Boxer](https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/UNTOLD-JAKE-PAUL-DOCUMENTARY-NETFLIX-REVIEW.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200)
Through two limited runs so far, Netflix’s UNTOLD series of standalone sports documentaries has established a consistently high standard in storytelling. The series returns for its third run this month, with a look at Jake Paul, the social media personality-turned-professional fighter. UNTOLD: Jake Paul the Problem Child follows his improbable career arc from prank videos to prize fights, and it’s a surprisingly engaging story.
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Through two limited runs so far, Netflix’s UNTOLD series of standalone sports documentaries has established a consistently high standard in storytelling. The series returns for its third run this month, with a look at Jake Paul, the social media personality-turned-professional fighter. UNTOLD: Jake Paul the Problem Child follows his improbable career arc from prank videos to prize fights, and it’s a surprisingly engaging story.
The Gist: Netflix’s UNTOLD series of sports documentaries stand alone; they’re unified only by branding–and by a consistently-stellar quality. The first edition of the series’ third volume hits the ground running with the story of Jake Paul, a star who represents the internet-age zeitgeist as much as almost anyone. He rose from shooting social-media prank videos with his brother in their backyard to making millions of dollars on YouTube, and eventually becoming a professional boxer. The story is told largely by the Paul brothers themselves, but much like Jake’s opponents, it doesn’t pull any punches. If you didn’t know going in why so many people hate Jake Paul, UNTOLD: Jake Paul the Problem Child is happy to tell you.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: During the first two volumes of UNTOLD, it was natural to compare these standalone sports documentaries to ESPN’s long-running 30 For 30 series. As the third season dawns, however, it’s time to drop that comparison–UNTOLD offers up a product that’s second to none, and the title should be enough to draw you in.
Performance Worth Watching: You can’t tell the story of Jake Paul without also telling the story of Logan Paul, and the brothers are nearly equally present in UNTOLD: Jake Paul the Problem Child. Logan’s the only person who can come close to understanding who his brother is. “Logan’s the only other person that’s walked a mile in my shoes,” Jake notes at one point.
Memorable Dialogue: “I mean, of course he’s delusional,” Jake’s older brother and frequent collaborator Logan muses, “We all are. It’s why we are where we are, until it becomes a reality. So like, yeah, he’s delusional–but that’s the beauty of Jake Paul.”
Sex and Skin: There’s nothing explicitly sexual here, but there’s YouTube-level hijinks, like one of the Paul brothers surprising the other in the shower, or exposing their rear end in a locker room.
Our Take: “I remember when they came up with the word ‘influencer’. That was us. They were talking about us,” Jake Paul muses on the unlikely career path that he and his brother Logan have taken. They were two goofy, rambunctious boys from Ohio, raised by a stern (and possibly abusive) father, who started making silly videos on the now-defunct social media platform Vine. They were the right figures in the right place at the right time, and they quickly skyrocketed to fame. Thousands of views became tens of millions, and then a starring spot on a Disney channel program for Jake (Bizaardvark). They were multimillionaires by the time they turned eighteen, and quickly became each other’s biggest rivals.
“There was a point where Jake and I hated each other. Legitimately. Not for clout, not for clicks. Hated each other,” Logan recalls.
It wasn’t just sibling hatred, though; Jake earned opprobrium from the public, whether it was neighbors in his Southern California neighborhood tired of his antics, viewers bothered by his often-offensive videos, or the various legal problems that began to swirl around him. One of the biggest stars on the internet became one of the most hated figures in popular culture.
Then, he took a truly improbable turn–a foray into the boxing ring, something that nearly everyone in the sport assumed was another one of his stunts. An amateur fight led to professional ones, and Paul proved surprisingly competent in the ring. His fame–both his legions of admirers and his more-numerous haters–would provide a welcome audience for a sport whose popularity had been in a decades-long decline.
The subject matter for UNTOLD: Jake Paul the Problem Child might not grab viewers who didn’t grow up immersed in the culture of YouTube, but don’t be fooled; this is a surprisingly compelling story. Paul’s rise from social media to professional sports is a wild ride, one driven both by a rapidly-changing media landscape and a massive surplus of confidence that’s fueled him his entire life, for better and for worse. It’s also fascinating to see Paul develop respect for the sport–for someone whose rise was far from respectful, it’s genuine character development.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Even if you don’t care a whit about social media stars, UNTOLD: Jake Paul the Problem Child is a fascinating story. In fact, it might be more interesting to people who’ve only heard the name in passing and have wondered what all the fuss is about.
Scott Hines is an architect, blogger and proficient internet user based in Louisville, Kentucky who publishes the widely-beloved Action Cookbook Newsletter.