Milli Vanilli

The document is good but mostly everyone there is lying their ass off to sugar coat the whole scam. I mean everybody knew before Milli Vanilli that only one person sang in Boney M and the male voice was Frank Farians own voice, I read about it in 1981 and I am just a consumer. And big bosses in Arista disint know about Boney M, Haloo!!! Also they all knew Frank Farian also and he was behind the massive success of Boney M. SO please DONT lie they just all wanted to make tons of money. These days with AI can make dog sing so these days this scam is more the rule, rather than the exception. And in those times there was already C+C Music Factory, Snap, Black Box, they all used model in video than showing who real singer was.

But the whole music scene has change so much from these days so...

As "Milli Vanilli" (2023 release; 106 min) opens, we are in today's "Amsterdam", and Fabrice "Fab" Morvan digs up pictures from the good ol' days (late 80s). We then go to "1986" when Robert "Rob" Pilatus and Fab meet in Munich, pretty much the only people of color in this conservative Bavarian city. They are in their early 20s and desperate to become "stars"... At this point we are 10 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from Luke Korem ("Dealt"). Here he reassesses the life and times of Rob and Fab, the front of Milli Vanilli whose lives were ostracized by the music industry and indeed the world at large when it turned out they had lip-synced all along. Thankfully Korem digs deeper and top executives of the record label Arista admit to knowing about it well before ti all came crashing down in 1990. Why is it that Rob and Fab were vilified but producer Frank Farian and label boss Clive Davis got off scot free? This documentary fills in the gaps very nicely, and it is long overdue to be honest.

"Milli Vanilli" premiered at last year's Tribeca Festival to immediate critical acclaim. It is currently rated 100% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, if you can believe it. "Milli Vanilli" started streaming on Showtime (now part of Paramount+) last Fall and I just stumbled the other day on it after watching "Thriller 40" (also on SHO). If you are a fan of Milli Vanilli, or simply interested in a footnote in the history of the Grammys, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

This is an absolutely riveting study into the fickle nature of fame as well as the price that must ultimately be paid for lies. It's also a peek behind the curtain of the music industry and the money that fuels it. Along the way lives are destroyed as two young and naive men get caught up in the whirlwind of fame and get put on a vicious trajectory with doom by forces out of their control. As a person watching this as it occurred in 1990 it is an interesting reminder, but viewers of all ages will enjoy this. It's also an emotional story of redemption for a man who was put under extraordinary international scorn in a no-win situation. Must see viewing for rock/pop aficionados and anyone.

Even after living through the rise and fall of Milli Vanilli, one could not understand how this was even possible. But looking at this documentary, it is almost a prediction it was going to happen eventually.

How many people were not only duped but participated in this whole scam? Now you can see the whole picture through the lens of the characters and you cannot really blame anyone but everyone.

They were even able to fool the most powerful people in the industry.

The two singers were vilified and accused. But now it is clear to me, they were only pawns. Here is the thing: it was good music.

Must see even if you never heard of Milli Vanilli.

I am NOT referring to Rob or Fab!!!

Honestly who cares if they were lip syncing??? I was in my 20's when the scandal happened and I still bought their music! They weren't the best entertainers out there but they were unique, eye catching and had sex appeal.

These record studios, execs, song writers etc knew exactly what was happening. If they didn't know in the beginning, they knew at some point. Everyone was about the money!! Just be honest! I guess they have their reputations to maintain but everyone knows record studios are vultures!!!

Ingrid pissed me off. She was so dishonest and disrespectful towards Rob and Fab. All that laughing and dismissive hand gestures spoke volumes. Of course she needed alcohol to get through the interview...I wish Rob never trusted her!!!! I just have no sympathy for her. She contributed to Rob and Fab's demise with her boyfriend/boss.

If you look closely at Fab's face during the Grammy picture taking portion of the documentary you can tell he did not look happy at all. Rob was just so happy to be loved and admired. But you could see the nervousness on Fab's face.

Also the fake outrage of the media at that conference was ridiculous!!! I thought Rob and Fab handled it very well!!! No one can deny the racial undertones (or overtones) of this scandal.

What this documentary did not say was that they only sold 2000 albums because the company that took a chance on them was already going out of business. So no one knows if they would have sold more records had they had a bigger machine behind them.

Charles Shaw is bitter to say the least but you really cant blame him.

Frank is somewhere living his best life with his millions. Hope it was all worth it....