User reviews

Rob & Fab were the Superstars of 1989 and although I wasn't a fan back than, the hype was felt by everyone. And suddenly it was all over... Simon Verhoeven made a great biopic about the rise and fall of those two guys, that works on different levels. The wall breaking was a nice touch, but what really worked, was the acting of the two leads, who fit perfectly. Combined with Matthias Schweighöfer as Farian the casting was top notch. Of course the script tried to shift the blame from the protagonists and yes, you will feel sorry for them, but what stays, is the fantastic product of Milli Vanilli, that wouldn't have worked without Rob &Fab. The movie tries to give them the credit they deserve. All in all, "Girl you know it's true" is really worth a watch, especially for everyone who was around when it all happened.

This is by far the best movie I've seen in 2024 so far. I loved watching them explore how exploitative and fake the music industry can be.

It's a shame that the movie didn't get much of an audience outside Germany. I'm actually blown away that the studio never distributed the film in the US, despite the subject matter being so relevant.

My friend and I are Americans living in Berlin and we rented this film on Amazon Prime last night. Surprisingly, there were no English subtitles available, so we needed to use Google Translate for all of the moments when the actors were speaking german. This was a real shame!

Took us about 4 hours to get through and luckily we do speak a little German. We used it as a fun exercise to improve our vocabulary, but I could see this being a major turn-off for other viewers.

Not bad! I hadn't expected that. I would even attest to the international standard of the production. A brisk production, an interesting story, of course, that's what it was, but with a few shortcomings in the acting. An entertaining biopic designed to entertain.

Of course Schweighöfer is, as always, a minus point at first, but that neutralises itself at some point. Either you get used to his eternally identical performance over the course of the film or he finds his way into the role quite well. He's always got a mischievous side to him and somehow can't be taken seriously.

As I said, the story is a self-runner. Exciting, tragic, sometimes simply unbelievable. A wonderful journey through time.

Fascinating music drama about the scandal regarding Milli Vanilli back in the late 1980's early 90's

Though I knew the background to their deception was not aware of the full story which this film does well to tell. Acting of the two guys playing the duo is not award winning but they do have chemistry together.

Thought Matthias Schweighofer was very good as the genius that was Frank Farian, and it was good to hear the music again that made the Germans famous

So definitely worth checking out as all the main players in the saga are given enough air time to understand their contribution to the rise and fall of Milli Vanilli.

I LOVED this film! I was a huge MV fan back in the day. I didn't even really care about the scandal... I just loved their songs (I have their second album on CD by "The Real MIlli Vanilli" called "The Moment of Truth," which also has some banger songs on it).

I thought all the actors were terrific, especially the guy who played Farian, and it was good seeing Brad Howell and John Davis get the spotlight. I like that the characters occassionally broke the 4th wall, but not too much.

I enjoyed this so much. I was tapping my foot throughout. Damn, they don't make music like this anymore! R. I. P. Rob Pilatus, John Davis and Frank Farian!

I really enjoyed this movie so much, I'm leaving a review 10 minutes after the credits. I remember when Milli Vanili hit the scene when I was in college. Their dance moves were so hot, music so upbeat, their act was so fresh and their international vibe so cool. Who cares if they lip synced, they were entertainers. This movie did a wonderful job explaining their quick, huge ride to the top, and their precipitous hard fall. The actors who portrayed the duo looked like them and did a great job. I had to do a double take at times. The film is very well made. Living in LA, I've seen my share of one hit wonders. This movie is a grim reminder of the cost of fame.

Most memorable is the music. This movie brought back memories of how great their songs were. I really wished they could have made more before the gig was up. 'It's a tragedy to think the dream is over', so apropos.

Surprisingly good. Not the best, just a pleasant, well telled movie/documentary.

What I most enjoyed is that It is not a pretentious film. Evenly, they make fun of themselves.. You can enjoy flashbacks of that years, with good music and events around the story.

About acting, those guys made a good job. They are carismatic. And you can tell real Milli Vanilli reacted the same way to all voragine they caused.

At the end you can relate with this guys, figuring what you could react to all proposals ther received. And comparing to current music with all the tecnology helping them.

As they said back days: They made a pact with the devil.

First of all let's appreciate the actors! Good cast, good work with them, it worked out well. Then again I was not expecting that it would be bad either, both men favor real life Rob and Fab.

The character who portrays Frank is also a good actor as well. I almost felt that I was right there as the events were taking place.

This movie centers around Milli Vanilli obviously, the story speaks about their chaotic ending in the music industry. Two young men who are blamed for lying about their music and who they were as artist. Yet, it was not just them who played a part in the entire scandal at the end of the day. This film also depicts how shady the music industry can really be!

With this tale, it dives deep with Rob, and why he even had a love for entertaining in the first place , same thing for Fab, both were dancers. Not knowing that later on they would be used as puppets for someone else's work.

Great film, would not mind watching it again. Rest in paradise Rob, you was and still are a great man.

The headline sums it up pretty good: it all looks good and the formalistic breaking of the fourth wall feels fresh and original, but like Milli Vanilli, the film is a pretty shell with nothing inside. We never get close to the characters. There are some attempts to provide psychological motivation or emotional depht (like Fab trying to impress his stubbornly unimpressed mother over the phone or Robs search for his father), but it all feels perfunctory. And despite some good moments, in the end I still don't know why this story is supposed to be so wildly fascinating or why I should care for its protagonists.

For a low-budget music biopic, this film makes a compelling watch in part because the story of Rob and Fab says a great deal about the artifice of the music industry and the fleeting nature of fame. It's absolutely and rightfully sympathetic to its main characters, who got swept into a fraud that got bigger and more elaborate than anyone expected. The performances are excellent, and the director makes some intriguing choices, especially toward the end of the film. Whether you are old enough to remember the scandal or know nothing, it's a film that should keep most viewers engaged. Also, the friendship between Rob and Fab, provides real heart to the story.

All the main actors also look eerily like the real people they are playing, so kudos to the casting director.

...and that something was subtitles. I saw this movie on a streaming service, which didn't provide subtitles for the German parts, so I missed about a quarter of the movie. For that, it has to lose a star.

The parts I did understand, I liked a lot. I liked the concept of the band talking about their heyday as though they were in the present, even though Rob sadly passed in the late 90s. Another review mentions this movie is an "empty shell", and I kind of agree with that because it does lack depth, but at the same time gives adequate backstory as to how the illusion fell apart. At the time it was a huge scandal, which I think is satisfactorily portrayed here.

Recommended for an easy night at home when you're feeling nostalgic. And keep Google translate handy if your streaming service lacks subtitles.

I disliked the film so much, that I went straight to IMDb to keep other people from watching it. Both main characters are played mediocre at best, the dialogs are the worst, and it has really confusing time skipps. It seems as if the film has logical gaps - even if it is a biography. It's like your 5 year old tells you a story about the really exiting day he had - exept that you don't care about the protagonists, because they feel flat and don't feel alive. Side storys just got abandoned during the film and are never resolved. A good story told badly. The narrating style is not a bad choice at all, but it is really poorly adapted as well.

I have watched documentaries about the Milli Vanilli scandal previously so I thought I knew the story but film tells the story in a fresh, enlightening, engaging and emotional way. It reveals details that I didn't know about the actual performers and writers of the group's hits.

The period attention to detail in the sets, clothes and soundtrack takes those of us old enough right back to to 80s but this film should also be engaging to younger audiences who have never heard of Milli Vanilli. The themes around in the pursuit of fame, exploitation by the entertainment industry and lack of post fame support are just as relevant in today's world of reality TV shows, social media and talent contests. Well with watching. Note that some dialogue is in German and French with subtitles.

This movie will catch you off guard. It hasn't had the wide release or the promotional machine that "Bohemian Rhapsody" had when Rami Malek took home his Oscar in 2018, but "Girl You Know It's True" matches it in production quality, storytelling, and acting. It goes deeper into the lives of two performers turned into caricatures by a scandal, showing the human side the world ignored.

It's not as simple as the world made it seem back then. This movie reveals the real story - full of history, record label schemes, family drama, and loss - all wrapped up in pure entertainment. It's a film that redefines how we see them, no longer as punchlines but as people.

One of the biggest upsets in music history was the Milli Vanilli scandal. I always had a vague idea of what happened, but hearing it straight from the source and seeing it accurately depicted on the big screen was an eye-opener. Gosh, what a story.

From having nothing to reaching the very top, only to come crashing down to zero-all for what? The crazy thing is, if this had happened today, they probably could've gotten away with it, and we, the fans, wouldn't care whether they were the ones singing or not. The real issue was the lie and how many people they misled. That's what truly frustrated their fans.

There are two projects out now:

1. A documentary featuring Fabrice (the only surviving member), where he tells the real story.

2. A biopic that closely follows his account but adds extra layers to the narrative.

Both were beautifully done, and the acting in the biopic was top-tier. Everyone played their roles so well, and the editing was on point. I especially loved Matthias Schweighöfer as Frank Farian-he embodied that role perfectly.

I'm sure many of my Gen Z and Gen A readers might not even know this group, but I highly recommend checking it out. It's a wild, unforgettable chapter in music history.

To the writers, producers, and storytellers of Girl You Know It's True:

First, thank you.

I came into this film expecting to revisit the pop scandal of my youth-Milli Vanilli, the Grammy, the lip-syncing, the fall. That was the version of the story the world fed me back then. I loved the music. I believed, like many others, that we'd all been duped.

But what I watched was not a scandal.

It was a tragedy.

A human one.

And one that hit me harder than I ever expected.

What you gave us wasn't just the truth behind the band- You gave us Rob Pilatus, the person behind the image.

And as an adoptee, I recognized that boy immediately.

When Rob said,

"I knew why they adopted me. They had something to prove," it was like someone reached into my chest and gripped my heart.

That was not a throwaway line. That was a life sentence.

A truth that every adopted person I know understands too well.

And that brings me to what I need to say:

This film should have included a trigger warning.

You gave us suicide. You gave us addiction. You gave us exploitation.

But the part that broke me-and that will break countless adoptees who watch this-came without a whisper of caution:

The portrayal of Rob's adoption trauma.

You showed the way he was abandoned, shaped, discarded, and ultimately destroyed by a system and a society that never saw the child behind the performance. And of course, as so often happens in real life-the adoptee is the one who dies in the end. The one who carries the most pain. The one who is never allowed to fully heal.

We live in an era where even fictional stories are prefaced with content warnings.

But this? This was a real story.

And you told it well. So well that it triggered something ancient and agonizing in me.

What I want the world to understand is this:

You think adopted children are "better off." You think we're lucky.

You think we're saved.

But unless you've been through it, you'll never truly grasp what it feels like to be

removed from your roots

stripped of origin and story

used as proof of someone else's goodness

and then asked to smile for the camera and be grateful.

Rob was a brilliant, broken, beautiful soul who never got the closure he deserved.

He was a boy who wanted to be seen.

And he died trying.

So again, I say thank you.

Because you told his story.

You honored his pain.

And now, I will honor it too.

But let this be a reminder to Hollywood, to storytellers, to audiences:

Adoptees are not props.

We are not plot twists.

We are not here to be tragic and then disappear.

We are still here.

We are still carrying it.

And some of us-like Rob-don't survive it.

Let his story stay with you.

Because it will never leave me.

Sincerely, Catherine An adoptee A witness A survivor And now-one voice louder.

I was a bit sceptical before watching this movie, but it was way better than I expected. The atmosphere of life in '80s and '90s is recreated beautifully. The cast is on point. The lead actors Tijan Njie and Elan Ben Ali look a lot like Rob and Fab, and their performances are noteworthy. They capture the charisma and vulnerability of the duo, making viewers empathize with their plight. The music, of course, is a central element. The soundtrack faithfully recreates the late '80s and early '90s pop scene. The recreation of Milli Vanilli's performances is done with great attention to detail. This adds authenticity to the film.

Movie excels in shedding light on the human aspect of the scandal, offering a sympathetic portrayal of Morvan and Pilatus as victims of a larger machinery. It serves as a reminder of the cost of fame and the ethical boundaries often pushed in the entertainment industry.

It is a well-crafted biographical drama that does justice to its complex subject matter, providing both a nostalgic trip for fans of the era like myself, and a cautionary tale about the price of fame. This movie made me sad, emotional, angry, happy, made me laugh and gave me shivers. The full spectrum of emotions. Great movie.

I Have seen the documentary about Milli Vanilli last year. Then this year,we are offered a movie.

I thought this film would be a good idea to watch it on a Saturday evening.

And oh, I'm so glad I did. Absolutely loved it!

The boys playing Rob& Fab are doing an amazing job .

The music is great, storytelling is great, I really like the fact that story is unbiased,there are no taking sides here, just the whole raw truth.

All the additional cast is great too. This film is very well done and I believe strongly that this is the second best biopic film after Bohemian Rhapsody.

Not sure why this hasn't been released worldwide,but it should be.

Perfectly done and for me, it's a gem.... Rest is peace Rob Pilatus.

No pun intended obviously. And as the title a riff on one of the hit songs from the duo ... well I am not sure I can only call them duo ... considering how many people were behind the success. Still the two "singers" are the faces (but especially the bodies) of the success. This is a really crazy (mostly) true story we get served here.

I am really curious and want to watch the documentary that has been made about them. But this is really well done - it does concentrate more on one of the two members ... but they are both mesmerizing ... they are both really charismatic ... they both had something about them ... and they both rose up too fast for their own good.

Even with almost a two hour running time, there is a lot this cannot cover ... the movie makes fun of the backstory (how long do you want to cling on the past/kids days?) ... but it is necessary to see where they came from - again more focus on one of them.

The almost funny thing about everything is, that I watched a dubbed version (Schweighöfer did his own voice, not sure about the two leads - I assume they did their voice too - but again, super funny no matter who did their voice). I only went to that version because I thought the movie would be in German ... them having success and living here.

I do not know too many details ... but the leads and every actor for that matter did a terrific job. I never had heard of the female that helped Farian ... also her being (probably/allegedly) one inspiration for the band name .... nickname being Milli.

Details seem to fit the bill ... but there are many versions of the story and the truth may not unfold totally ... like when the movie also tells us ... hey we don't know if this actually happened ... on the other hand - both "singers" may not have remembered everything that they went through ... for apparent reasons (see the movie).

Then there are things that I do wonder about ... like their look - the hair thing gets sort of touched upon. There is a scene that explains it - though I have no idea where they found those pictures. Anyway, there is also the clothes ... the style that was used. They were quite ... well if you saw them, they stuck with you! Who decided that? It looked like Milli was responsible, but maybe it only looked like she decided that ... maybe it was Farian .. maybe the duo themselves had a saying ... whatever the case, the movie is really well done ... ba ba ba ba ba baby! Don't forget their number! Important lessons learned - hopefully.

Edit: I watched the press conference they gave ... the one that is also in the movie. The real one was quite the mess ... the movie did a good job ... by not copying it. But made it something almost different. Obviously real life is way more complex - you can't comprehend or put everything in this. I still wish I had known this was shot in English - even more so because some French passages were kept in French anyway.

The music still works, I showed their first music video to a younger colleague and she was quite smitten by them. Or at least that's what she told me. I choose to believe they still would have that effect on people. Fame and money ... they are quite poisonous ... add drugs to the mix and it gets out of hand. Music history was written ... and quite a crazy one ...

The hook occurs with the same indescribable effect as when you hear a really good song for the first time. The story coalesces beautifully because Fab and Rob's unexpected bond is captured so organically that you can't help but become a living participant with them. That this project was created by so many of those that were part of the actual story is a testament to how much more there was to this history than meets the eye. Done any other way wouldn't have the same transparent heart and soul that was so evident when the mythos of this duo was first created.

I liked the movie so much that after so many years I have finally decided to sign up to Imdb to be able to rate this movie. I love how the story is told, I loved the acting, I loved how their music is an important part of the film, I liked how the story wasn't sugercoated and that it was presented so well that it was able to carry the emotion.

I listened to their music as a teenager so it was also interesting from that side too as I was able to understand what happened that they decided to go into the music world in a way they did. But regardless of nostalgia, I recommend this movie even to those who have not heard of MV as it is an excellent movie.