Milli Vanill: O Maior Escândalo do Mundo da Música

I heard about Milli Vanilli when I was really, really young - right out of toddlerhood, maybe. As such, at the time, I never really understood everything that happened back then involving this "scandal", but it always surprised me how vehemently ANGRY quite a few people would become at the thought of these two men, Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan having "lip-synced some songs". (Yes, that's pretty much what I knew of it). As I grew up, I understood more of it, especially because I was involved in dance, but still, the indignation and ire with which some people referred to it, always escaped me. As much WRONG that was done by these guys, much worse was actioned by the ones who used them and benefitted from them. Can anyone who sees this documentary, truly say they would not at least pause and consider the dream-come-true which was presented to be plucked? If anything, they brought the world some GREAT tunes which otherwise may not have been made or may not have had the success and airplay they did. What a shame that the brunt of the fallout and fallback, as this documentary shows, was paid by the two performers.

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 was a great documentary. First and foremost, it brought back some fun memories of the music (even if they didn't sing it). More than anything, though, it humanized them in a way I had never thought about. I always remembered feeling angry that these two had tried to pull a scam on everyone, when in reality it was dozens, if not hundreds of people all keeping quiet because of the millions the album was making. By the end, I felt sadness for them instead of anger. There have been some great music docs lately... WHAM, and now this. And girl you know it's true that I ordered the CD after watching. Go ahead and judge all ya want.

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.

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...