Crazy Sexy Cool: The TLC Story (2013)

I love this movie so much

Touches You

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

VH1's original film CrazySexyCool tells of the rise of one of the biggest acts in urban music history, TLC. Beginning in Atlanta in the early 1990's, the film delves into the humble beginnings of Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins (Drew Sidora), Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes (Naitia Kirkland) and Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas (Keke Palmer) who dominated the US and global charts in the 90s and early 2000s. Remaining members Watkins and Thomas served as executive producers on the film, however it's the performance of Kirkland (aka Lil'Mama) that will be the most talked about for her uncanny portrayal of the group's late rapper Left Eye.Running over two hours, the film covers the group's explosion on the hip-hop scene as they were discovered and signed by Pebbles (Rochelle Aytes) and LA Reid (Carl Anthony Payne II), the latter who has gone on to become one of the most notable music executives in the business. The film gives equal time to the girl's relationship dramas as to their financial worries, which caused them to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and renegotiate their contracts before their third album release.The film's score interlaces notable instrumental and acapella sections of the group's hits, including What About Your Friends, Unpretty, No Scrubs and Waterfalls. However, it's the section featuring the track Creep that is the most memorable, with the production capturing the tumultuous events that lead to the infamous arson incident featuring Lopes and former partner Andre Rison.Solid performances by Aytes and Evan Ross (Dallas Austin) and incredible recreations of TLC videos will leave fans more than pleased, however some die-hards may feel as though the film misses out the perspective of Lopes, whose creative and spiritual journey towards the end of her life interrupted the group's promotions of their album Fanmail. For that, audiences will find documentary The Last Days of Left Eye as an insightful look into the inner world of the L in TLC.Along with Straight Outta Compton, this is one biopic that is likely to stand the test of time and is a must see for R&B music aficionados.

Well, when I turned this film on I expected a VH1 movie. This movie was both directed and cast good enough to be on the BIG SCREEN. That is comparing this film to some of the TURDS I have seen this year. The actor was awesome, the casting was awesome. The casting was so good you forget what the real artists look like by the end of the first few minutes. To avoid ruining anything I will not give my opinion on the trails that the group faced but WATCH this film. If you avoid this movie because you feel on way or another about the music please don't. I was never a TLC fan and can not truly call myself one after seeing the film but I can say I now appreciate their art.

I enjoyed the film. It's honestly sad to see how the music industry can mess with people that have dreams of becoming a superstar. It shows how it can be a tough ride in a crazy music world. Decent!!I think they did a good job of casting the girls. It showed everything from Love to torn friendships to Family. I really enjoyed how the showed the relationships the ladies went through. I like how honest chilli was with her story in this movie. I was surprised at how little LA Reid played in this movie. Carl Payne didn't really have too many lines in this film, I would have expected more since he was part of the bigger picture. I would have thought they would have also included Babyface. Overall it's a solid movie that anyone watching will enjoy.

Without a doubt, there are few bands featuring women which have done as much as TLC. Perhaps the only others who stand beside, if not a few steps above, would be The Supremes and The Spice Girls when you speak of iconic female groups. But, with it being now over a decade since Left- Eye's death, perhaps with CrazySexyCool is meant to serve as the surviving members of TLC going over their past one more time as they prep us for the future.Now, most of the time the film does feel balanced. Keke Palmer plays Chilli and gets a few good stories dealing with issues she had with Pebbles, her child's father and showing Chilli's personality; then we have Drew Sidora as T-Boz and we get to see her as sort of the big sister, as well as watch as she goes through the issues which come with Sickle Cell Anemia; and then there is Lil Mama's role as Left-Eye, which often steals the show as she takes on a life which is heartbreaking, dramatic and spirited to the point that knowing she isn't physically with us is heartbreaking.When it comes to the story the movie starts with the formation of TLC, before Chilli was even part of the group and a girl named Crystal was the C. What happens to her isn't discussed, but what is shown is Chilli coming in and the girls bonding. In fact, most of the movie deals with their sisterhood and how they supported each other through personal hard times, or even when Left-Eye's ego was starting to cause friction. Everything in the movie leads up to what looked like the end for TLC with Left-Eye's death, and then them showing the original members recording their new single "Meant To Be."To be honest, my expectations were low after seeing what they did to Biggie in Notorious. My expectations were just to hear a few songs I didn't remember and that being the most I got out of this. Surprisingly though, CrazySexyCool in no way tries to just live off the band's name, their music, and your nostalgia, and leave you with something slapped together. Truly it seems like T-Boz and Chilli wanted to get personal with their fans, or at least as much as they could, and reveal stuff that is personal and deep to them. In the film we go over their struggles in music and their personal lives, and not just the well-known drama, but the stuff perhaps only die-hard fans, friends and family may know. Which leads me to mention Lil Mama and how she truly makes you feel like you are witnessing Left-Eye's life during these times. Truly, to me, Lil Mama puts on the type of performance which makes you think she may be thinking of being the next rapper to cross into acting and not look back. That is how good she is. To me, if they mixed archival footage and Lil Mama's performance, the two would seamlessly mix together. You see, as you watch Lil Mama take on Left-Eye's struggles it gets you to the point of being teary eyed and upset that so many of our great artist die so young.But while I may praise Lil Mama, I must admit she does cast a slight shadow on Palmer and Sidora for they really can't keep up. Sometimes while watching Lil Mama work, it almost makes it seem like Palmer and Sidora may have the hair styles and clothing to be Chilli and T-Boz, but their performances don't match. Be it because Left-Eye had the biggest persona, or the girls' performances, it truly is hard to say. But I did wonder why sometimes they seemed to use Left-Eye more so for drama than anything else. In the film, T-Boz and Chilli, Sidora and Palmer, narrate randomly at times, but such an opportunity isn't given to Left-Eye/Lil Mama. Also, though for the most part all of Lil Mama's raps of Left-Eye are dubbed, they give Palmer the chance to sing despite sounding nothing like Chilli at all.Overall: Worth Watching In a Power 105.1 interview Chilli stated the reason they went to VH1, and didn't go the theatrical way, was so that this would be played over and over like The Temptations movie and The Jackson 5 movie. Now, as of this moment, I wouldn't put CrazySexyCool in the same category since the music doesn't have as much of a focus as those two films have it. However, with Lil Mama's performance, a familiar brand, and a sense of nostalgia, it is hard to not recommend this movie to watch. For, though I can't foresee if it may perhaps become as classic as the Jackson 5 and Temptations movie, I do think Chilli's decision to bring this to VH1 was definitely a good one.