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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.

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

Luther Vandross is a musician that isn't talked much amongst people and Vandross has an interesting history with music, identity and his career. While this documentary does have it's faults on some pacing and structure, the documentary has a good heart that explores Luther's music career, personal life, sexual orientation, and experiences with strong direction, good sense of emotions, and a good heart to the core.

There are many interesting aspects about Luther's life and career that were well-explored throughout the movie and it was interesting to learn about aspects I wasn't familiar with. Revolving around his music, sexual identity and some of the issues he has faced, it was a good documentary about a talented musician who wasn't as well-known to the public, yet has an interesting background.

"Luther: Never Too Much" is a captivating documentary that pays homage to the legendary R&B and soul singer Luther Vandross. From the very first note, the film immerses viewers in Vandross's timeless music and explores the remarkable journey of his life and career.

The storytelling is heartfelt, balancing vibrant concert footage with intimate interviews that highlight the impact of his music on fans and the music industry. The documentary offers an inspiring narrative of triumph, creativity, and resilience, reminding us why Vandross remains a beloved icon.

The music itself is a star of the show, with hits like Never Too Much and A House Is Not a Home brought to life with stunning audio clarity. The sound design truly shines on the big screen, offering a crisp and immersive experience that amplifies the emotional resonance of each song.

Whether you're a longtime fan or new to his catalog, Luther: Never Too Much is a wonderful celebration of a musical genius whose influence continues to be felt. A must-watch for lovers of soul and great storytelling.

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.

Good thing I glanced at films now playing section of my phone to see what was playing. I wanted to see this documentary ever since its buzz from Sundance. Then I notice it only had only one showtime today. After further research I noticed it had opened on November 1rst 😩 so any time now it would be out of the cinemas. I dropped everything I had schedule today to watch LUTHER: Never too Much and it was FANTASTIC!!!! Took me back to the 60's, 70's, 80's & 90's. Absolutely LOVED it!!! If it's playing in your area it's a MUST SEE!! RIP Luther! Such a great artist! It was a beautiful journey through his life, his music. So many things I did not realize about his earlier days and struggles at the time. But you made it Luther! And almost 20 years after your passing we still remember you, your music and we love you! For any fans of Luther, this documentary will fill your heart with joy!

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.

My background is in production, plus as a University Archival Reference Librarian, I have high standards for documentaries. The research team on this film did a fantastic job showcasing Luther Vandross in Luther: Never Too Much (2024). The director did a linear timeline of Luther Vandross and Sony assisted in providing outstanding sound quality of the music videos and live concert performances. I felt everyone in the audience had a favorite Luther Vandross song, and at the time in the 1980's and 1990's a lot of interviews just cared about "Who are you dating?" and questions regarding his weight. When Luther was so much more. He was a vessel who helped others find love through his music. Love the interviews with Jamie Foxx on how much Luther Vandross's music helped him to win over the ladies, how Mariah Carey felt singing with Luther Vandross. And even how Dionne Warwick was blown away at a remake of one of her songs sung by Luther. I even learned about some songs I never knew about before. I can not wait for the world to see this movie. Luther truly had a gift of singing and struggled so much to not just be labeled on black radio stations, but on popular radio stations as well. It's a film where you will learn, laugh, and tear up with emotion if you listen to the words of this perfectionist's lyrics. I hope it's distributed soon!

Using a wide array of archive and some fairly honest and potent interviews, this documentary presents us with a short biopic of rather an enigmatic gent. Initially, his dulcet tones earned him a decent enough living doing lucrative commercials and providing backing vocals until a session with David Bowie started his career on a largely unhindered upwards trajectory. His associations with Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler and Roberta Flack, his total - almost perfectionist - commitment to his art and his cheeky sense of humour all contributed further to a success that transcended not just US racial boundaries, but also physical international ones too. I wasn't really that aware of his music, but watching this does effectively illustrate just how many songs he was behind - writing and/or performing, that are more familiar than I'd expected. This also wasn't a messy man. He wasn't in and out of the papers with stories of his life, his lifestyle, his drinking or drug taking - he actually comes across as a remarkably stable man in many ways, even if his solution to problems he faced was to reach for the fried chicken bucket or the ice cream spoon. Happily, we don't really focus too much on the personal life. Perhaps because his own comments of "mind your own **** business" are echoed by the film's contributors who knew him and who chose not to add fuel to any fires burning about his sexuality. It's a celebration of his music that broadens awareness for folk like me who didn't realise the scope of his skills, and it is a fitting and spangly tribute for those who did.

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!

As "Luther: Never Too Much" (2024 release; 102 min) opens, Luther Vandross is rehearsing "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" in an empty arena in B&W footage, which then turns into a full arena and full-color footage. We then hear from Luther as he talks about his upbringing in New York and his eventual humble beginnings in the music industry as a backup singer... At this point we are 10 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from acclaimed writer-producer-director Dawn Porter ("John Lewis: Good Trouble"). Here he assesses the life and works of Luther Vandross. I was not aware of his early involvement with David Bowie (on the "Young American" album), or later Chic (all of their early albums). Considering these humble beginnings in the music industry, it is absolutely amazing to what heights Vandross eventually reached. The documentary does not shy away from the difficulties faced by Luther (health-wise and otherwise).

"Luther: Never Too Much" premiered at the 2024 Sundance film festival to critical acclaim. After a brief theatrical run in late 2024, the movie is now streaming on Max, where I saw it the other night. The movie is currently rated 95% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, which feels a little too generous. Regardless, whether you are a superfan of Luther Vandross, or merely a casual fan (like myself), I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

Two hours in Lutherville!

I'm a huge fan and went in expecting to get a surface story but I left impressed by the textures laid out by the director. It was story told by his dearest friend that gave a window into Luther's creative process.

Our audience was lucky enough to have Kevin Owens there to do a Q&A after the show. I got a chance to ask questions and got insightful answers.

It was a pleasure to sit immersed in such an incredible voice and hear his friends and peers articulate his career nuances. Appreciated the credit given to his writing and arranging skills. Loved this movie! I look forward to seeing it many times again.

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!

Overall, a very well done documentary. Vandross was an incredible singer and composer, as well as, an authentic human being. Watching his struggle was hard, not to mention the constant barrage of untalented and tone deaf members of the media who reminded him constantly about his weight in lieu of simply focusing on his music, his message.

My only issue was that of the testimony of a particular artist who laughingly claimed that record stores kept "Black Music" in dungeon esque catacombs, well beneath the white artists - where spiders and rats festooned the candle-lit passageways. (I'm paraphrasing, of course) but in all actuality, how was this ludicrous statement not edited out.

I was, and still am, a huge fan of Vandross, and vividly recall his albums/CD's, being found right along with Whitney Houston, Teddy Pendergrass, Prince, Michael Jackson and countless other black artists, in the main store aisles of Sam Goody, Wee Three Records and such...

Seriously, I have NO idea what she was talking about, or what fabricated point she was attempting to make. It was incredibly insulting.

In any event, I do wish, along with millions of others, that he was still with us. It would have been amazing to witness his continued growth and evolution as an artist that comes with advanced age and perspective. I'm sure he would have continued to blow us away.

A documentary from last year on the late, great R & B soul singer, Luther Vandross. From the beginning, Vandross had a love for music (even securing a job at the famous Apollo theater in Harlem) which exposed him to all the divas of the time where he'd take notes when it came time for him to become the preeminent background singer of his time (working w/the likes of David Bowie & the recently departed Roberta Flack) but when it came time for him to spread his wings (ironically pushed there by Flack), he became the voice of his generation (even though the constant complaint of his record label not being able to break him into the non-soul market remained a sticking point) but he continued to persevere even though his up & down weight gain & his sexual standing (Patti LaBelle kind of confirmed his gay status even though he remained mum on the subject as long as his mother was still alive) would dog him until the end of his life (where he passed away from Diabetes complications). Entertaining throughout even for someone like me who knew of his songs but wasn't a fan per se, the presentation & on camera talking heads make the life he lived a joyous one even though the slights from his detractors was in the minority.

The Luther Vandross: Never Too Much documentary what's the best!

I really enjoyed seeing from beginning to end so much of the storyline of his life. It was wonderful just seeing and hearing his band members talk about him show clips of him. Talk about how they started.

I really enjoyed hearing about Sesame Street. I was so surprised that he was part of that back in the early days of his career.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear that he did jingles, which was a wonderful career in itself

I was delighted to hear that he also did background singing for so many major music artists. And it was wonderful hearing David Bowie and Roberta Flack talk about how he was just such an excellent singer.

I loved hearing his background singers. Tell the stories of how they started and where they went I love the way they would talk about how he could come up with songs in the middle of the night and share it with them.

I loved all of the video clips and performances of his concerts. It was so nice seeing him perform I really enjoyed the music and the background singers were a show in itself.

I love the way that his background singers could really put so much rhythm into their singing and I really appreciate it Luther and every song that he's saying in this documentary movie

I am grateful to have seen this movie. It makes me start replaying all his songs all over again.

Amazing tribute and journey portraying all the highs and lows of Luther's amazing life and career.

An incredible singer from early on being a supreme backing singer, making jingles for many top brands, then writing and singing absolutely amazing songs. It's an eye opener in that he worked and collaborated with so many top musical performers. Some of the musical scenes bring back memories and he sexually/weight was a sad attraction of the media.

I will never forget when I had the privilege of seeing Luther twice live at Wembley arena - one of the best performances I have ever seen.

A great tribute.