WeCrashed Review: The Dramatic Real-Life Rise and Fall of WeWork

A schadenfreude tale of toxic billionaires

WeCrashed is a dramatization of the rise and fall of WeWork, a property rental company. It is yet another entry in the world of factual dramas that leave everyone rubbing their eyes in astonishment. By the time it ends, one is left wondering how all that could be true.

WeCrashed is set around September 2019, when WeWork was already starting to crash. Jared Leto plays the role of Adam Neumann, the founder of the company. It looks like Jared Leto has managed to impersonate the serial entrepreneur from Israel very well.

As the drama begins, Neumann is on the verge of getting removed as the CEO from his own company by the board. The board features Anthony Edwards, who has played a similar role in Inventing Anna, which is another show based on crazy real-life dramatization. It is obvious that the unicorn is about to get hobbled.

The plot goes back and forth in a seamless way as we see the story of Neumann getting unpacked alongside his wife (Anne Hathaway). Though, even people who deeply understand the company structures in the US, buy-ins along with buyouts and shareholdings will find it difficult to figure out why WeWork was valued at $47 billion during the peak time. Furthermore, as soon as someone looked at the actual documentation of the company, it is worth just decreased to $10 billion. It is all quite interesting yet mind-boggling.

However, people believe the success of WeWork, although short-lived, was primarily because Neumann was an amazing salesman. Furthermore, it looks like people were blinded by the fact that WeWork is, at its very core, a simple real estate company. That was because the buildings owned by WeWork were full of tech startups that seemed very trendy. Other than that, everything about the company was very standard and nothing out of the box. The “disruptive” innovation was nothing but a mistaken façade.

Furthermore, the private jet worth $60 million that Neumann owned did not make anything better either. From time and time, we have learned that the assets of a company are not your own. And those who have treated the company’s assets as their own have not had great luck.

One might expect WeCrashed to be a dull tale that takes one deep into the company structures and the mindset that extraordinarily sways one away from reality. But WeCrashed is a lot more than that. It is a very enjoyable tale that shows the irony of being rich and successful. Though, the drama itself does not provide much criticism or perspective. Instead, it leaves it on the viewers to judge.

When it comes to an analysis of ambition and greed affecting one’s decision-making, the show Silicon Valley offers much more. With that, WeCrashed apparently lacks a comparison between business acumen and attractiveness. One wonders whether investors are supposed to make such big mistakes or perhaps, they are humans too who might not be able to resist the char sometimes.

Overall, both Hathaway and Leto have created a very convincing marriage on-screen that shows two narcissists. While one cannot certainly say that the couple is a narcissist, it looks like the constant toxic and supportive attitude clearly points towards narcissism. We see the relationship between Neumann and his wife crumbling apart as they got near to bankruptcy. Amidst all these pressures, they also face the ups and downs of life that include the self-penned marriage vows by Rebekah.

However, it is surprising to know that the original couple is still together and has 5 children. So, does it mean that love still conquers everything in the end? Or perhaps it is all about some shared self-love. At the end of it all, reports say that Neumann is still a billionaire. However, his current net worth is nowhere close to his peak of $14 billion.

Many would say that the main reason why WeWork crashed is because of Adam’s mentality of “spend more to grow”. This eventually drives the company into debt, and despite that, Neumann does not learn from his mistakes in the past. It is apparent that at one point, the company definitely looks like it is destined to be in flames soon.