The other day I watched Milli Vanilli, a critically acclaimed new documentary about the infamous duo. And I highly recommend it. To those who don’t remember, the stratospheric rise of this Euro pop duo Rob and Fab back in 1990 was matched only by their straospheric crash when their own producer called a press conference and confessed they had lip-synced everything.
The story of Rob’s decline into despondency and drugs was tragic and deeply moving. And I was infuriated by the way the record producers and executives exploited Rob and Fab, made millions from them, and then got off scot-free when these two young men were scapegoated for the sins of an industry. (As an aside, I was also deflated to learn that Boney M is also a lip-synced creation of the same ethically challenged producer.)
If that’s all the documentary was–tragedy and anger–I probably wouldn’t want to recommend it. But the best part is the dawn light breaks through with the inspiring story of how Fab’s life has since turned around. By the end we discover that he has, quite literally, found his own voice. I admit it, I was tearing up: but you can blame it on the rain.
