Far From Comprehensive, Hulu's Bon Jovi Documentary Still Strikes a Chord

Tommy used to work on the docks.

Shot through the heart and you’re to blame.
 
This ain't a song for the broken-hearted.

 I spent 20 years trying to get out of this place.

Most people can probably belt out the next line to each one of those lyrics. Bon Jovi, the hair band that first saw success in the 1980s, has a plethora of beloved songs that have wormed their way into our collective pop-culture psyche. “Livin’ on a Prayer” debuted in 1986 and 38 years later people are still rocking out to it at weddings, school dances, or alone in their car. The band's infectious tunes are almost guaranteed to put the listener in the best mood. 

Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, the four-episode docuseries premiering April 26 on Hulu, tells the story of the band's rise to prominence. But the documentary isn't just how the magical combination of luck, hard work, MTV, good looks, even better hair and the best songs propelled Bon Jovi to stardom. Nor does it focus on lead guitarist Richie Sambora’s dramatic departure from the band. 

Surprisingly, the docuseries, from director and executive producer Gotham Chopra, is a thoughtful meditation on getting older, grappling with your body no longer being able to do what it used to, and coming face to face with your legacy. Although many voices are featured in the series, lead singer Jon Bon Jovi is its protagonist. Thank you, Goodnight works because Bon Jovi makes such a thoughtful and compelling lead character. He’s forthcoming. He’s funny. He’s self-deprecating. He’s charming. There’s a reason he also had a successful run as an actor. 

Set within the framework of the band preparing for a 15-show tour in 2022, Thank You, Goodnight traces John Francis Bongiovi Jr.’s  path from being in a high school garage band as a way to stay out of trouble to leading one of the best selling bands of all time. The overarching arc is also Bon Jovi’s health and the fact that his voice is no longer what it used to be. 

When considering vocal surgery, Bon Jovi’s doctor references the fact that the man who launched the power ballads of our collective youth is getting “less young.” The turn of phrase is the perfect euphemism for aging. With every passing second, we get less young. But that reality is not necessarily something Bon Jovi has made peace with. “I’m not here to drag down the legacy. I’m not here for the ‘where are they now' tour. I’m not ever going to be fat Elvis. It ain’t happening,” he says.

The doc combines archival television clips and concert footage with interviews with Bon Jovi, current bandmates, former bandmates, former manager Doc McGhee, superstar fans like Bruce Springsteen, and others who helped propel the band to fame. 

When Bon Jovi met with the Television Critics Association in February, he stated that he didn’t want the series to be a “VH1 puff piece,” and for the most part Thank You, Goodnight is exceedingly honest — especially when it comes to Sambora, who abruptly quit the band in 2013 hours before they were to take the stage. Sambora is interviewed separately. “I’m excited,” Sambora says when viewers first see him. “Are we telling the truth or are we going to lie? What are we going to do? Let’s figure it out.”

Those hoping for any kind of cathartic reconciliation will not get one. Sambora, for his part, cites needing to be present for his daughter and the mental health problems of his ex-wife Heather Locklear as the reason for his departure. “I don’t regret leaving the situation, but I do regret how I did it,” he says. But he also doesn’t hesitate to get a few digs in at his former bandmates. “The band was stale at that point and my job was to say that,” he says. 

Bon Jovi takes ownership of his role in creating the chasm. “I should have learned from the mistakes of our past that we should have maybe taken more time,” he says of the band’s nonstop schedule. “I’m guilty of going through it with blinders on.” It’s clear that over a decade later the wounds of the break-up are still raw. “I was sadder than I was pissed off,” bassist Hugh McDonald says. 

The grind of being constantly on tour, never being home, and only always being as good/popular as your latest hit song is laid bare.  Fun behind-the-scenes tidbits — like Bon Jovi not realizing “Livin’ on a Prayer” was a hit — populate the episodes. 

Pieces of the band’s history, including making headlines with McGhee’s drug arrest and Sambora’s stints in rehab, are discussed but there are also times when the docuseries perhaps glosses over things. Bon Jovi’s wife, Dorothea, is interviewed but the toll her husband’s career may have had on their marriage and their four children isn’t really discussed. No other spouses are interviewed. World events like September 11 and the global pandemic are portrayed within the context of how they affected Bon Jovi, which comes off as a little too navel-gazing. 

“Nothing to be ashamed of, to grow old gracefully.” Bon Jovi says at the end of the docuseries. But even after four episodes, one wonders if he truly believes that. 

Thank You, Goodnight premieres April 26 on Hulu. Join the discussion about the show in our forums.

Amy Amatangelo is a writer and editor. In addition to Primetimer, her work can be found in Paste Magazine, Emmy Magazine and the LA Times. She also is the Treasurer of the Television Critics Association.