The History of Concrete Is More Interesting Than It Has Any Right to Be

What’s in a name? For the new documentary feature, The History of Concrete, this particular name might signal a topic that few people would be interested in. But they’d be missing out. Documentary filmmaker John Wilson has been documenting the mundane for at least the last decade– originally with his HBO show, How To with John Wilson, and now with his feature length documentary. His projects normally start with a centralized idea like How to Put Up Scaffolding or How to Cook the Perfect Risotto, but then Wilson will often take multiple detours. The History of Concrete is, essentially, a very long episode of his HBO show. Don’t worry though, you’ll quickly catch on to the hilarity that Wilson’s able to capture from his camera. 

Following the success of his HBO show, Wilson didn’t exactly become a millionaire. He’s still living in his same New York apartment, with new residents in tow. He contemplates making a Hallmark movie, before discovering that there’s numerous problems in his flat. Perhaps the solution is using concrete to fix the cracks? Well this leads Wilson down the rabbit hole of discovering the concrete. I mean take a look around New York, concrete is everywhere. 

The movie certainly explores the history of concrete in a number of ways, but like Wilson’s TV series, the detours are plentiful. Some of the destinations that he visits include a wax museum in Rome, the set of Marty Supreme, a Kim Kardashian party, and the highest point in Ohio. What exactly Wilson is trying to accomplish at each of these locations is part of the fun, so I won’t spoil that here. 

The other third of The History of Concrete is about Wilson’s life as a creator. As interesting as it is to see what new footage he’s been able to record, the persona he’s created for his videos is just as interesting. I’m not sure I entirely buy that John Wilson the person lives his life like John Wilson the character portrayed in these videos, but it works for him. Wilson shares the pitch meetings where he’s trying to get funding for his new film about concrete and shows us the residual checks he’s getting from the TV series, basically his HBO success did not translate to overnight sensation. 

New York and the people of the city are very much part of the appeal of Wilson’s work. It’s hard to imagine that some of these people are real. There are plenty of other strange characters in The History of Concrete, including a Gum Busters guy whose sole job is to go around and pressure-clean gum spots off the sidewalk. In case you thought that, Mr. Gum Busters only lived to shout his trademark phrase “it’s busted,” he also sells Gum Busters branded wine that he stores in his garage. 

If you’re coming to The History of Concrete to find some interesting facts about the concrete, you’ll find some of that here. You’ll also find some wild detours into places and people that have to be seen in order to be believed. Now excuse me while I do more research into the Self-Transcendence 3100 mile race which takes place over 52 days. [B+]

Recently I reflected on how some of 2026’s most buzzworthy films are documentaries. Is it because the topics are especially interesting or is it that we are looking for things that are real in this age of A.I.? I’m not sure, but this week saw two trailers for upcoming documentaries that I wanted to share.

First is the trailer for the new Nathan Fielder / Lance Oppenheim documentary on Elizabeth Holmes, You Can See Everything.

The second is the first trailer for Musk, a four-hour documentary on Elon Musk.