In Girl, you know it’s trueNow available on VOD services like Amazon Prime Video, established dancers and aspiring singers Rob Pilatus (Tijan Njie) and Fabrice Morvan (Elan Ben Ali) take their first single to the mainstream in 1988 and 1989 under the control of German record producer Frank Farian (Matthias Schweighöfer). The breakout success of “Girl You Know It’s True” brings them worldwide fame almost overnight and a Grammy for Best New Artist. But they had never sung anything. And when the Lip sync scheme revealedMilli Vanilli’s dreams and brief, golden pop star status were shattered. Girl, you know it’s trueWritten and directed by German-Austrian filmmaker Simon Verhoeven, it is dedicated to Pilatus, who died of a drug overdose in 1998.
GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUESTREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
The essence: “I know what you’re thinking right now,” says Rob Pilatus (Njie) in a voiceover. “Milli Vanilli, didn’t they betray the whole world? Well, sort of…” And that’s true, depending on how you tell the duo’s story. But this is also just a kind of voiceover, because Girl, you know it’s true The curious decision to cast Njie and Elan Ben Ali as Fabrice Morvan speaking directly to the camera. They are in character, but they are also removed from the film’s narrative, observing it from a kind of eternal spiritual position. And what they observe is the story of two enthusiastic young people who met by chance, formed an immediate bond and set out to achieve the stardom that they believed would legitimize what they had always wanted to be. And it worked – until it didn’t.
We begin in Munich, West Germany in 1986, where Rob was the star of the Bionic Dance Crew – breaking, DJ scratching, tracksuits, everything. When he meets Fabrice at a dance audition, it’s because they’re mistaken for each other; Fab had moved to Munich from Paris, because in West Germany he’d be the only black kid. (“I thought.”) We also learn a little about Rob’s local upbringing as the adopted son of a white couple, always wondering about his true heritage. But once Rob and Fab grow long braids to stand out and start dressing risqué and matching, they’re soon in demand as dancers on the club circuit – which is where they’re discovered by Ingrid (Bella Dayne), aka Milli, and her record-producing partner Frank Farian (Matthias Schweighöfer), who had found success in the late 1970s as the creator and songwriter of the black disco group Boney M.
“I’m not looking for dancers,” Frank tells impressionable hopefuls Rob and Fab as they sign a hefty contract without a lawyer present. “And I’m not looking for singers either.” I’m looking for stars.†Farian copies Baltimore group Numarx’s “Girl You Know It’s True” and, with minor tweaks, releases a new demo version, performed not by Milli Vanilli but by his usual stable of studio musicians. It’s a hit, a bigger hit, an even bigger hit, and then Clive Davis and Arista Records come knocking. Good looks, long braids, spandex tights, leather biker jackets, high-top Adidas sneakers, and mind-blowing dance moves: Rob and Fab were something the record companies could sell, and the duo became an overnight MTV sensation. The whole playback thing? Well, maybe they’d sing on the second album. While Fab has his conflicts, Rob is fully committed, especially to a lifestyle of free money, booze, cocaine, and women, and they ride the wave as long as they can. But in 1989, with the infamous live revelation of the playback lie, “Girl, you know it’s a girl, you know it’s a girl, you know it’s a…– Rob and Fab become pariahs for decisions that were orchestrated by financial decisions from record companies much larger than those of two guys who just wanted to be big stars.
What movies will it remind you of? The documentary of 2023 Milli Vanilli is an in-depth look at the duo’s rise and fall: Fabrizio Morvan is interviewed extensively and the documentary develops a portrait of exploitation and a tone of regret similar to Girl, you know it’s true.
Performance worth watching: Tijan Njie and Elan Ben Ali are both very good actors in their roles as Rob and Fab. The actors embody the pop duo’s look and moves, but they also convey a great strength in the brotherly bond these boys share. It was the two of them against all the other forces at work in their lives.
Memorable dialogue: In early 1989, when Arista installs them in a Beverly Hills mansion, they gaze out at the California sunset from the edge of their underground pool. “Is this real, bro?” marvels Rob. “No,” replies Fab. “It’s a beautiful illusion. A trap.” Fab emphasizes that they are imposters. And Rob knows it. But he would rather think of them as showmen. For however long that lasts.
Sex and skin: Nothing direct, but plenty of excesses and suggestions of rock star behavior.
Our opinion: “Let’s never screw this up between us,” Rob tells Fab. Girl, you know it’s trueas the wave of their success begins to build. “We’re brothers, Rob, forever.” Their bond is central to the film and rewarding to the viewer, because it keeps us interested even when the standard arc of a musical biopic begins to overtake the proceedings. Which is not standard at all in Girl It’s the periodic breaking of the fourth wall by Tijan Njie and Elan Ben Ali as the dancing pigtailed duo. And also Matthias Schweighöfer as Frank Farian, in a single scene that’s equally bizarre but, let’s face it, quite funny, thanks to Schweighöfer’s performance. Would fans have screamed the name of the producer and his band of scruffy German studio kids if they were the ones singing Milli Vanilli songs on MTV? Would their mouths have watered at their sensual moves? No, probably not.
While Rob and Fab narrate and observe Girl, you know it’s true From a kind of sumptuous forever place, where they are always together and remain fabulously intertwined in their brotherly bond, it takes us beyond the callous tactics of record companies, the litigation that fractured Milli Vanilli’s relationship with Farian and even the inevitability of their fall into playback. The on-camera scenes don’t exactly flow with the film. But often, they are the truest expression of the deep friendship Rob and Fab shared.
Our calling: Pass it on. Girl, you know it’s true It’s structurally sound and satisfying as a rise-and-fall musical biopic. But the film finds a deeper note of sensitivity in its depiction of Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan. They were caught up in a fake singing charade. But their personal bond was always real.
Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is a freelance writer and editor based in Chicago. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.
