Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Housewife & The Shah Shocker’ on Hulu, A Damning Look At Jen Shah’s Legal Drama

After the success of The Housewife and the Hustler, the documentary focused on the ongoing legal battles of Erika and Tom Girardi, ABC News and Hulu have teamed up yet again to try to explain what’s happening in Salt Lake City, Utah as well. The Housewife & The Shah Shocker attempts to give context (in varying degrees) to fellow Bravolebrity Jen Shah who is currently facing massive fraud charges, which has been documented on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City this season. We saw the women’s reactions to her shocking arrest, now here are more details of what that all means. 

THE HOUSEWIFE & THE SHAH SHOCKER: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: The focus of this 48-minute documentary is Jen Shah and Jen Shah only — something she would typically not only love but demand! But in this scenario, it’s not great. We watched that luxury van ride where Whitney Rose broke down the charges to the other women and did her best (and a great job at that!) to explain how Jen’s “marketing” company works and ultimately scams vulnerable people. Here, we meet those vulnerable people.

The documentary also gives the backstory of Jen’s former business adventures, speculates about her finances with husband Sharrieff, and gives more information about how these marketing scams work, including interviews with a few of the victims. By compiling clips from interviews and podcasts, and commentary from journalists, hosts, and legal experts, the evidence is damning. But even more: this case is just one part of a very tangled web.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: It’s very similar to The Housewife and the Hustler in that there is certainly a lot of good context around this case here. To see victims, to understand a bit more of how this all happened and who Jen Shah is (or was, pre-fame), especially in a business context, is useful. But the minute former cast member Dana Wilkey shows up, and for some reason, she keeps showing up, the sensationalism really starts to show. Though it is always great to see Brian Moylan!

Performance Worth Watching: Their name was beeped out on RHOSLC because it was too upsetting for Jen to even hear (amongst other reasons), so she’s really not gonna like that designer Koa Johnson is featured here, explaining their side and experience of working with her last year. It’s not pretty. But the fashion he created for her sure is!

Memorable Dialogue: It’s Kelly Carter from The Undefeated who says of Jen’s assistant and accomplice Stuart Smith, “He just looked a little too grown to be her assistant, and I didn’t know why he was there, holding her bag at the botox medispa. Why are you there, Stu? Why?” The entire first chunk of the doc lays out footage that really reveals how many questions we should’ve been asking and how obvious it is that Jen was trying to fool us all.

Single Best Shot: The one thing we can appreciate Dana Wilkey for uncovering is this photo of Jen from 2006 because wow.

Sex and Skin: No, but if you want something really gratuitous, wait until you hear about how she was throwing around her money, including (allegedly) $80k for a party. The closest we get to any skin is a close-up of her chest as she models a sparkly emerald and diamond necklace for a Marie Claire video.

Our Take: It makes sense to capitalize on this case: producing a documentary in true-crime style around a show people are hooked on is a no-brainer. And while they do a good job of explaining some of the more technical aspects of this legal mess, parts of the documentary also feel a bit sensational. Johnson probably has the most insider information on the actual Shah Squad, spilling the tea on her rented luxury items and also addressing his traumatic relationship with her. Jen’s aunt Lehua Vincent is also interviewed so that there’s at least one person defending her.

If you’re invested in the Shah drama, and it’s nearly impossible not to be, the extra information this provides helps to contextualize where the real gold is happening, on RHOSLC. The doc is infuriating and heartbreaking and interesting throughout, and there’s enough there for both Bravoholics and the uninitiated as well. It just won’t leave you feeling very good is all, but that is the point. This special reinforces everything Jennifer Lawrence so accurately said in her recent Vanity Fair profile when describing the Housewife: “She has the strongest case of personality disorder I’ve ever seen in my life. You know those people who don’t take any accountability ever—to where you almost feel jealous? Total lack of accountability, lack of shame.”

Our Call: STREAM IT, but treat these documentaries like your daily horoscope: take from this what you need and leave the rest.

Stream The Housewife & The Shah Shocker on Hulu