A One Mann’s Movies review of “Luther: Never Too Much” (2024).
“Luther Vandross…. Luther Vandross…?” I was thinking on the way to watch this new documentary about the American hit-maker of the 70’s and 80’s. “…What did HE sing?”. I came up with his cover of “Endless Love”, mainly because the Lionel Ritchie version was the title song from that dodgy 1981 soft-porn-teen film of the same title starring Brooke Shields! But, of course, as I was watching “Luther: Never Too Much” there was hit after hit after hit that I recognised, some sung by him and others sung by other artists.
All in all, this is a must see for lovers of 60’s, 70’s and 80’s music.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
“Luther: Never Too Much” Plot Summary:
Losing his father at a young age and then growing up in the Bronx, we follow Luther Vandross’s interest in music and performing and the massive influence he had on singers across the music spectrum, particularly those from the 1970’s and 80’s.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: NR. (From the BBFC web site: “Strong language”.)
Talent:
Starring: Luther Vandross, Jamie Foxx, Maria Carey, Richard Marx.
Directed by: Dawn Porter.
Running Time: 1h 41m.
“Luther: Never Too Much” Summary:
Positives:
- A brilliant waltz through some of the great acts from the 1960’s to the 2000’s and the influence of Vandross on them.
- Some entertaining talking heads from people who worked with him and fans (including Jamie Foxx and Maria Carey).
Negatives:
- Feels slightly sanitised… from a fan-worship point of view.
Review of “Luther: Never Too Much”:
Wow – what a gift to the world.
What shines through in Dawn Porter’s well structured documentary is just what a talent Vandross had. Bizarrely, he was first spotted by Jim Henson (well, for the group he was a part of) to perform on “Sesame Street”! But even the jingles he did for pizza and beer commercials in the late ’60s were still “wow!”. His skills for writing and performing harmonies was first noticed when he was a much-in-demand backing singer for some of the great live acts including Roberta Flack and Bette Midler and there is lots of terrific footage from those shows. And Bowie fans will not be disappointed by seeing Vandross’s involvement in the recording of David Bowie tracks, including “Young Americans”.
The majority of the film though focuses on his own solo career and how many great hits he rolled out, both sung on his own albums and as the songwriter for others. Most of his interviews through this period illustrate just what an intelligent, eloquent and well-balanced individual he is. This is one story that you feel is not going to end in a fame-fuelled mess of drink and drugs.
His relationship with food.
However, much is made of his yo-yo-ing weight as he kept ballooning by 150 pounds and then losing it all again. His relationship with stress, unhappiness and eating is part of a deadly cycle and you can’t not be sympathetic with him as interviewer after interviewer ignores his music and prods into this aspect of his mental health that he was understandably reluctant to talk about.
Other than being aware, through the obvious interviewer’s past-tense, that he is no longer with us, I was not aware of when or how he passed. So this was a story to be uncovered as I watched the film.
Celebrity heads
Many of the talking heads (and the most interesting ones) were his loyal and close-knit team who worked alongside him and often suffered through his need for utter perfectionism during his shows and recordings! (This clearly had positive result: his live shows look to be extraordinary and it feels a great shame that he never got to have a long and lucrative residency in Vegas.)
But also talking to camera are celebrities including Maria Carey and Jamie Foxx. Foxx is one of the film’s producers, as I noted, curiously, is Colin Firth. Foxx’s comments in the film are a bit of a shame in that he (quite amusingly) keeps dropping the F-bomb and that seems to be the primary reason for the film getting a ’15’ certificate. A few bleeps or edits might have got this a 12A and allow a younger audience to enjoy it.
Feels like a tribute.
I got some online flak recently for seeming to support far-right-wing views in Asif Kapadia’s polemic drama/documentary “2073“. This was absolutely NOT the case… but I do like documentaries to have balance and reflect all aspects, good and bad, of their subjects. Here, Dawn Porter has crafted a loving tribute to the star but, other than the weight issue, it doesn’t seem to disclose any ‘dark side’ to the singer at all. Maybe he never had one: there is certainly no hint of drink or drug problems, which is the usual story in this type of music story. But notwithstanding this, the film does rather pussy-foot around his sexuality (the film hints at the fact that he was a closeted gay) without nailing any facts to the mast. As such, the film feels a little bit pandering and ‘ungrippy’.
Summary Thoughts on “Luther: Never Too Much”
I went to see this without any expectations, given that the Illustrious Mrs Movie Man was away for the night and I had an evening to fill. But I was very positively entertained by this. The couple in the seats next to me, of a similar age, were very much Vandross fans and were ecstatic about the film. If this is you, try to get to see it!
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “Luther: Never Too Much”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2DzYSv9a-k.
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