Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: WHIPPLE’S WORLD [Tribeca Film Festival - New York, New York]

George Whipple as a personality is an interesting mix of cultures and usually the best are. He supposedly has been a staple of NY red carpets for many years. However having been a staple of LA coverage and junkets I had never really seen him as Neal Rosen was the one I more associated with NY1 but it makes more sense now having seen the documentary: "Whipple's World" [Spotlight Documentary]. The lawyer element of his life makes a lot of sense if he wasn’t full staff or to supplement the income. But it goes deeper than that with his connection to the Rockefeller family. One would never know this aspect likely unless close to him. The celebrity interview thing and his eyebrows are what he loves doing (since it is about personality) and has seemed to take up many of his evenings for a couple decades. And yet his employer litigation is considered, according to the documentary as well as some peers, as one of the better ones in NY. And when dealing with unions, that does say a lot. The doc shows Whipple dealing with arbitration as he is moving in the car. On top of that he seems to have a place either in Upstate NY (at least a castle is) or Connecticut which he seems to commute to the city from.

Once you start seeing the kind of stuff he hoards, the family connection and even his young daughter at 71, one wonders the connection point of all of this. He is a big personality and all this stuff seems to work but, speaking from experience, it is a lot but certain sections of the doc are made for certain reasons. While it does get into a lot of detail, it seems like it misses some very specific questions about the bridge between his family history and the law. Granted a lot of it is supposed to be uplifting and fluffy in that way, especially the celebrity stuff because it is about him being funny and bringing joy. But in parallel, it is also about history so the confluence of all things does not always intersect. The doc talks about him restoring places, a family farm and buying a castle. The question becomes where does this come from? Generational wealth, his law practice, a combination or something more. It is not anybody's business but it is a doc about him. It also doesn’t delve to where his fascination to get on the red carpet came from and how he connected with NY1. The end game is fascinating but there are definitely some details missing that it would have been nice to see. The ending with him tilling a farm might be a genuine passion but it also comes out of nowhere without leading in. "Whipple’s World" is a cauldron of many things and the doc reflects that manic pace. Whipple's celeb work is the focus and it makes sure to include his producer and longtime cameraman. But it is the story on the periphery that is the most fascinating. B

By Tim Wassberg