WHAT IT'S ABOUT: The extraordinary story of the $24 million McDonald's Monopoly promotional game scam, which lasted for more than a decade before it was busted in 2001, gets a six-part HBO documentary treatment.
During that period, there were almost no legitimate victors in the promotion as the most valuable pieces (prizes of up to $1 million) were stolen and then distributed through a complex criminal network to "winners."
Filmmakers James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte use classic true-crime storytelling techniques, as well as cooperation from McDonald's, to unpack the enormous fraud.
MY SAY: It would be hard to conceive of many better illustrations of the notion of truth being stranger than fiction than the fact that the famous McDonald's promotion was successfully rigged for about 12 years. It's simply a jaw-dropping reality.
Throughout the first three episodes of the series screened for critics, the filmmakers delight in the opportunity to lay out the groundwork and contours of the scam. They introduce the perpetrators _ including the apparent masterminds _ as well as the FBI agents who finally caught onto the malfeasance and other major figures.
The approach is straightforward and familiar to fans of this nonfiction subgenre. Talking head interviews are sprinkled with impressionistic re-enactments and vintage clips to provide the sort of visceral thrills one might expect to encounter as such an unlikely story gets unpacked. That, of course, is balanced with a burst of nostalgia for anyone who remembers taking part in the ubiquitous Monopoly promotion.
At times, the series feels too calculated in a familiar direction, as if the filmmakers spent a bit too much time dissecting "Making a Murderer" and its ilk before trying to replicate the basic format.
But the truth is there's no need to reinvent the documentary form here. Concisely unpeeling the layers of convoluted corruption that facilitated the expansive fraud is more than enough to maintain an engaging experience. One development is stranger than the next.
The filmmakers benefit from a series of larger-than-life figures who candidly recount their experiences at the center of this maelstrom. These include the hilarious FBI agent Doug Mathews, who enthusiastically recounts how much fun he had investigating this case, and several of the illegitimate winners, who meticulously describe how they became involved in the scam.
These are characters ripped straight from a Martin Scorsese movie, and it will come as no surprise to learn that the story heavily involves the Colombo family, infidelity and other betrayals, undercover investigations and all sorts of similar archetypes.
The first three episodes of "McMillion$" are concerned with introducing this strange world and laying the groundwork for answering the fundamental question of how one of the world's most iconic corporations could have been scammed so drastically. They do so effectively and entertainingly.
But the impetus is on the concluding half of the series to articulate larger ideas about what this story says about distinctly American values and the warping of the American dream.
BOTTOM LINE: The first three episodes of "McMillion$" unpack the incredible story of the McDonald's Monopoly scam with flair, even if the shape and contours of the series are familiar.
