Glitter and Greed: The Lisa Frank Story

I feel I must preface this by saying I was never a fan of the Lisa Frank brand-it always felt too 'forced happiness' to me; but I will say, my little sister loved it. The bright colors, the big doe-like eyes on everything, the forced-down-your-throat rainbows were just a lot.

Which is ironic, because it's exactly how this 4-part documentary feels, too. It is a lot to stomach, and definitely defies belief. Most of the stories told by employees feel authentic, Rhonda and James feel cartoonish in their appearances. But these employees are largely no better. If they were hoping to be portrayed in a more sympathetic light, maybe they should have a more sympathetic story to tell.

Being in a career that barely pays minimum wage, just so you can say you're an 'artist' defies logic. It's akin to holding a career in the adult film industry just to say you're an 'actor'; the only difference is, those in adult films are generally paid incredibly well.

There's myriad examples of insanity, but one example that really stands out is a grown adult with bangs (no sis, just no) who loudly proclaims that 'all wealthy adults partook in 'illicit activities' and even if she was serious, it sounds very contrived and forced.

I could almost feel a good amount of empathy for the employees had they been hired at demonstrably higher wages, and then had a rug pull that landed them at 8.00/hr working 12 hour days, but that was not the case. One employee went from a salaried position of 12.5K yearly to 8.25/hr, and I believe the hourly rate puts him miles ahead, with both examples being enough that a sane person would have rather worked fast food 60 hours a week, but apparently being considered a literal starving artist made it a viable career. I do feel badly for people trying to raise families on this paltry salary, however, the moment it's apparent there's nothing changing, it's time to flee and find haven in another job. We're talking about Tucson in the 80s-90s, not exactly a ghost town with no other options, at a time when the economy was thriving.

All that being said, James being the CEO makes all the sense in the world; the head of a cartoonish, flamboyant company is the embodiment of the brand. The mission statement should have been enough to tell you this is not your job. Upon reading this debacle you didn't feel an urge to purge, Rhonda and her antics should have been the impetus for an hasty exit. I don't know if it was her being a female that made her believe being a garbage person was her claim to fame, or the result of working in a miserable environment that eventually exacerbated her persona, but either way, she should have endured multiple.lawsuits, not continued employment. I get the distinct impression that Green was using Frank for a few things- a meal ticket, a beard, and a step stool. I don't really care how little you wanted to have children or how old they are at the time- admitting it was something/someone you did not want or wish to pursue is something you squash deep down to places you don't acknowledge. Ever.

The employees seem intent on creating some sort of cartoonish work environment that anyone with the slightest sense would have walked away from immediately, and given the pure hell they supposedly endured, one has to question the veracity of truthfulness, because I cannot imagine staying.

My review, much like this series could have easily been condensed into a much smaller version, but for some reason, we're forced to hear the same things on repeat as often as humanly possible. Too long, too repetitive and too boring.

I was a parent when Lisa Frank products became so popular, so I was not really emotionally invested in any of this. It's sad to know that the person who was behind all of the optimistic cheerful artwork was giving her employees such a hard time. I hate that we didn't get her side of the story.

The employees had an equally hard time with James. Their descriptions of him made him sound like a total narcissist. His interviews confirm that 100%. And his poor son seems completely brainwashed. I suppose when you have two difficult parents you just have to choose the lesser of the two evils.

The best part of the whole documentary is how they color coordinate all of the clothing and backgrounds for each person interviewed. I'm not sure how all that was arranged, but I loved it!!

As someone who lives for rainbows and was born and raised on Lisa Frank in the 90s, this documentary successfully shattered my childhood and beliefs. Beautiful. 10/10 Would recommend

This was very well-made. It features a great deal of never before seen photos and footage. I've only ever seen a couple photos of the elusive Lisa Frank so it was really interesting getting to see so much behind the scenes. I really appreciated the aesthetic and color coordination put into making this, as every person being interviewed seems to have their own color.

As a viewer who was deeply biased going into this and has always loved Lisa Frank, I sadly admit this documentary changed my opinions drastically. Overall this was a very informative documentary and a reminder to research what you purchase and who you buy it from.

I give this 9 out of 10 stars. Only reason I am knocking off one Star is for the lack of commentary from Lisa Frank herself. It would have been nice to hear from her side of the story.

This series oozes neon dirt about the reckless Lisa Frank empire and the chaos it created for employees, licensing partners, and Kickstarter-based funders.

Frank declined to participate in the series. Both her absence and the victims' stories speak volumes about the sky-high level of dysfunction she and her husband perpetrated.

As a creative who's worked for high-profile companies - two of which were husband-wife owned and operated - I believe the words of former Lisa Frank staff.

Here's my take on the documentary's triad of doom:

Lisa Frank: A talented, selfish, greedy, ineffectual, litigious, dishonest, out-of-touch person and, more recently, straight-up plagiarist.

The Ex-Husband: An abusive, greedy, and hopped-up egomaniac and megalomaniac who seems to have found Jesus but pukes shade and foul language on all involved.

The HR Lady: Most of us know the type - you can't trust her any farther than you can throw her.

I feel horrible for the children and trusting souls who were/are caught in their crosshairs.

And I've seen it before. He starts the interview and says he didn't really love Lisa. He didn't want kids. He wasn't ever there, at home, he was a perfectionist, he wasn't angry as he pounds the table. He disproves everything he is saying in his own interviews. He LOVED the kids, but he didn't want them and was literally in his own words a weekend dad. He treated his employees and his wife like sheet, like he didn't care about their lives or even their health, but Lisa is the horrible person? No effing way. This documentary shows who is the horrible person by his own words. And the people who are horrible can't bear to take responsibility and say "I was a bad husband, a bad manager and a bad father" because he's just too self absorbed.

This is a sad tale, series. But it's nice to see people expose themselves and you see exactly what happened by who that person is today. No one in this documentary speaks badly of Lisa Frank except her ex husband and her clearly jaded oldest son who didn't want to grow up to be his own person, he, like Obama wrote, wanted to live the dreams of his father, who had the opportunity but was never there for him. Couldn't even eat DINNER with them.

Sad.

When my kids didn't want to go to their father's house, I made them go. I never talked bad about their father in front of them, EVER. What a sheet human being James Green is. So self absorbed everything aroud him has to be green. So self obsessed even his SON has to have green all around him. It's so horrible to have people so ungrateful they can't talk to their parents. You did that James, because you are a horrible person.