In 1989, Arista Records re-packaged German pop group Milli Vanilli’s debut album All or Nothing for American audiences and called it Girl You Know It’s True. On the strength of five hit singles, the album went 6x platinum and the music world had a new international pop sensation on their hands. That is until the faces (Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus) of said pop group were discovered not to possess the voices of said pop group. In December of 1989, singer Charles Shaw told New York Newsday that it was his voice throughout Girl You Know It’s True, not Morvan and Pilatus. Grammy’s were revoked, jokes were made across pop culture and, eventually, a life was even lost, all because German music producer Frank Farian concocted and executed an idea of pairing two heartthrob faces with other singers’ voices.
Told mostly through the perspective of Morvan, Milli Vanilli walks audiences through the rise, fall and aftermath of the turn-of-the-decade sensation of the same name. Everyone from the real singers to the producers assistant to family members shed light on the story that rocked the music world back in 1990.
While there’s nothing special about the directing or the style of the presentation, director Luke Korem does a great job making you feel, at any given moment, the joy, the guilt, the tension or the pain of the ordeal. That said, it’s fitting and wonderful to see Morvan on stage singing well (for real) at the end.
Unlike other documentaries (such as Michael Jackson – Thriller 40, for example), I’m not sure anyone raised outside of the 90’s would care. If you did grow up in that era, however, Milli Vanilli is well worth your time and can be streamed on Paramount Plus.
JKG SCORE: 7.0
Untitled Film Project 