Glitter and Greed: The Lisa Frank Story

This "your favorite thing from childhood ruined" as a genre of documentary is getting so tiresome. We all have heard that the Lisa Frank corporation was terrible to work for, but there's nothing in this documentary that's very different from literally any corporate work environment. I think the producers of this documentary were hoping for it have some shock factor because Lisa Frank's imagery is so bubbly and cute that maybe the contrast of the work environment would be surprising, but the only people who would be shocked by this are people who have never worked anywhere before lol. Not to undermine what employees went through, yes it was horrible, but the documentary itself is not worth watching. You could make this same exact documentary for most any corporate job.

There was very little interesting footage and almost nothing about Lisa herself, it's more about the company and less about her as a person. Without having any sort of human element to this doc, it's very forgettable. They try to bring in some emotional element to this by having her son talk about the divorce in a way that feels very out of place and unnecessary.

The only highlight was getting to see some of the artists who were involved throughout the years. And there was a clip from Frank's wedding that was neat but nothing else. If they wanted to capitalize on the nostalgia element, they could have at least touched on that better.

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.

The documentary is pretty boring. I mean it's really not that interesting. It doesn't really cover anything of any value. They probably shouldn't have made it. Even the last part of it where they start discussing the person that painted their studio I mean you can use colours in a studio so I don't get it. That's like anyone saying that uses the same five colours it's trademark infringement. I kept thinking it would get better, but it really just kind of was just so so boring. I get documentaries are cheaper to make, but please, for the love of God and stop producing such dumb documentaries. I wish I could get my four hours back.

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.

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.