Luther: Never Too Much

It's been nearly two decades since Luther Vandross' early death at 54, but this overdue 2025 documentary from Dawn Porter is most welcome at this moment because it places clear focus on both the successes and struggles of the great crooner and songwriter. Porter covers the full spectrum of his career from his appearances on the first season of "Sesame Street" as part of the vocal group, Listen My Brother, all the way to his last and most personal chart hit, "Dance With My Father". In the three-plus decades in between, his mellifluous tenor was heard consistently on a series of hit recordings at the same time he worked as producer, songwriter, and collaborator with the most legendary divas. Drastic weight fluctuations, diabetes, and his closeted private life also get attention but not excessively so. Incorporating interviews with colleagues and confidants, this is a well-paced and researched chronology of a genuine talent frequently underrated but not forgotten.

I only knew Luther Vandross from his many old great hit songs on the radio back in the days, so I am not a diehard fan, but this documentary gave me so many goosebumps and such a good feeling! Really touched by it (and surprised by it as well...)

What's most surprising to me was the fact that before he got known as a singer he wrote so many songs for other famous singers who all cherished his songwriting skills AND his background singing performances, like Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and David Bowie.

Famous actor Jamie Fox describes several witty memories of him stealing girls' hearts with playing Luther Vandross songs while courting them, making all the girls melt in his arms!

Singers all have their peak and then they mostly fade away from the spotlights, but I never knew what happened to Luther Vandross and this movies story about his downfall is so touching, yet still so sad that I dont wanna tell about it here in this review.

I can highly recommend watching this doumentary if you have doubts about being it worth the watch ESPECIALLY if you are not a big fan of his work!

What a voice! What a sweet soul! What a tragedy!

I have been a fan of Luther Vandross for over 30 years. Own all his 13 albums including his Christmas album making a total of 14. When I learned that a new documentary will be made on his life, I could not wait to see it. Now that the opportunity has arrived, I would like to say that I have now received my chance to see it. I must say that I came out of it enlightened.

For a while, I have been wanting to see a full documentary on Luther Vandross. Aside from the Journeys in Black mini-documentary hosted by BET, there have been no documentaries on the life of Luther until this day. I would like to send my kudos to the director Dawn Porter for providing us a documentary long overdue.

I am a filmmaker and a student of film, aside from the story being crafted well, it was what any Luther fan could ask for. I have been a fan of his work for as long as I can remember and to see him being honored this way was beautiful. It was a rollercoaster of emotions from glee to sorrow, beginning to end. There were so many great takeaways from the film; one of the biggest was hearing so much of the story told by him. You could feel the love he had for others and the joy he brought radiating through the screen. I cannot wait for the chance to purchase this film, I hope it's available to view again soon.

Had a chance to see this at the Freep Film Festival in Detroit! It was so great! Of course the music was on another level like Mr. Vandross! I learned some more about him. Especially the fact that he went to school at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. He didn't like and left. My daughter said see I told you! She goes to WMU. It had laughter, the audience loved it, because you felt like you were at a family reunion.

He is missed! I saw him when I was 17 years old in Indy. It was him Cheryl Linn, Ashford and Simpson and Ready for the World! They all put on a great show! I am glad I did!