The director behind the movie How Did We Get Here?, the documentary about gaming Youtuber Sean McLoughlin / Jacksepticeye, is Tucker Prescott, whose previous work includes camera work for television shows and short films. One of them even starred Amanda Seyfried. I don’t know why I’m mentioning this except for the fact that it is nice to see someone move up and present great work on their own. If anything, Prescott’s small rise reflects McLoughlin’s meteoric one. This movie then documents McLoughlin touring his one man show from North America to Europe.

During one scene, McLoughlin is on stage, telling audiences the things that the people in his home town in Ireland used to do that he thought was normal but in retrospect isn’t. That scene follows another where he comes home. Or at least what looks like a veterinary food store that used to be his home. There, he chooses a more intimate way to tell stories about the house parties his family would host. That story sounds like a nice memory, but there’s a solemness to this intimacy, connecting those house parties to his need to make people laugh. He also makes connections from his childhood to the alcoholism that members of his family struggle with. Other connections include his depression during a time when he thought he couldn’t leave his small town.

How Did We Get Here? shows this intimacy on levels that aren’t just sad. It sounds reductive to say or write that the movie works on two gears. He’s happy during the stage scenes and more toned down during the Ireland scenes. Because it is. Even before McLoughlin’s show starts in cities like Los Angeles he greets people in spaces that seem like either backstage or the theatre foyer. There, he jokingly tells audience members to lock eyes with him during the show. Before that he narrates that he knows seven thousand people in LA. This is refreshing in comparison to other people who do one man shows who think of his audience members as just fans.

Years have passed between McLoughlin’s first video in 2012 and the tour in 2017. (I had to look up both years on Wikipedia, and I have mixed feelings on the lack of facts within How Did We Get Here?). Although I’m willing to let that go because of how rewarding the movie is the first time and a few more. The first time paints a picture of a guy who’s humble after getting 20M+ subscribers. (I’ve seen egomaniacs who have less, including me). Subsequent viewings are when other interview subjects like his family members. One of them even admits that he had to make appointments to see McLoughlin. It’s good to see a person who can course correct before it’s too late.

Watch How Did We Get Here? on digital and on demand platforms.