Lip Service (2000 film)

Lip Service (better known as Out of Sync[1]) is a Canadian and American 2000 musical, comedy and drama film.[2] The film was directed by Graeme Campbell.[3] It was released on the VH1 Music Channel on July 12, 2000.[4] The film deals with topics which are similar to the famous Milli Vanilli scandal except the lip synching artist is a mid-20s female.

Plot

A desperate record producer and song maker with the name Roger Deacon, alongside his recording partner Buddo, perform several singing voice tests with several women inside Deacon's studio. None of the women are approved although a black female singer appears singing the songs with the best talent. Deacon and one of his record managers, Lowell Levitt, head into a restaurant or nightclub later that night. The former, however, gets frustrated when he and his other best friend Skeesix, an ex-narcotics dealer see Sidney Golden, the primary record company manager. Golden and Levitt then introduce Sunni, a mid-20s redhead female who looks pretty. She, however, does not have proper talent or a very good singing voice under which Deacon's pop songs can be sung. Sunni is therefore used for lip synching the songs.

Meanwhile, a housewife named Maggie Stanley has been long wanting to become a singer as has her son Joshua, or Josh. Maggie also has an eight-or-nine-year-old daughter by the name Sadie. Furthermore, Maggie is called "the cleaning lady" because of her tendency to clean up her house on most days. Maggie later goes in Deacon's recording place and begins recording songs, beginning with "Saturday", "In the Name of Love" and the "Desperate Measures". But Maggie does not realize that Roger and Lowell plan using Sunni for lip synching the songs and pretending as though she is the singer for the songs.

At Josh's school area, Maggie gets really startled and crashes her Chrysler or Dodge minivan into a brick building, at which time the vehicle's airbags pop out, causing Maggie to get whiplash. Making matters worse, she later comes home and sees Sunni acting as the singer during a music video. Maggie then screams and states to her husband Stan and son Josh that it was her singing on the television, not Sunni. Stan says that he would like to believe Maggie, but the turns of recent events are making almost no sense whatsoever.

Maggie goes into the recording studio, very angry against Deacon for having Sunni rather than her (Maggie) on the studio album covers. Deacon, though, lies when informing Maggie by saying Sunni carries almost the exact same voice. Maggie and son Josh later arrive for Sunni's autograph signing, around which time the audience yell for Sunni to sing, but Sunni refuses doing so. News media reports then state Sunni might have never had the proper talent let alone voice by which she could perform good songs. Sidney Golden is insulted and angry, saying he would have never signed somebody to his record label who could not sing properly or did not have real talents. While Sunni sings "In the Name of Love", Deacon gets the word to her that she was being just used. That's when Sunni gets very angry against Deacon and explodes into an outburst, screaming that she has singing talents.

Deacon later warns Levitt the charades are over while he and Skeesix get into a limousine and drive away. Levitt then manipulates Buddo into stealing the tracks recorded by Maggie and using them for Sunni's live concert, following which Deacon plans ending these whole fiascos once and for all. Deacon and Skeesix, the former of whom brings yellow flowers to Maggie, apologize to her. Deacon wants to just make things right. Maggie opens her front door, near which point Deacon then informs her things have gotten totally out of control and that Buddo stole the recordings under Levitt's direction because Maggie would not sing and Deacon refused giving Levitt those recordings.

When Maggie, Skeesix and Deacon arrive at Sunni's concert, just before the three go inside the building, Sunni gets condescending against everybody else in the room when she requests water and more eyeliner. While in the building Maggie and Deacon, both of whom in hard hats on their heads, watch one woman coming from Sunni's room crying. Not long afterward, Maggie and Deacon infiltrate the room wherein Buddo is trying to use the recording tapes. Deacon and Buddo almost get into arguments over the stealing of the recordings, but Maggie informs them they all performed lies. Deacon calls for Buddo into doing what is right and says Maggie made everybody cookies. Buddo cuts off the microphone with Sunni still lip synching several songs. Deacon and Buddo make Sunni sing under her own vocals, after which the audience boo, jeer and laugh against her. Sunni leaves the stage following the incident; that's when Maggie reveals herself as the actual voice behind all the songs Sunni was lip synching. From there, Maggie begins performing the songs, some which have her son Josh singing alongside.

Cast

[2]

Production

Plans to create the film were first announced via Variety in March 2000. The script was written by Eric Williams and Richard Schenkman.[5] Kari Wuhrer and Peter Outerbridge were brought on to portray two of the film's central characters. Michael Larkin of VH1 noted that the film was to be "our take on the Milli Vanilli controversy" and would feature original music.[6]

Release

The film was released on VH1 on Wednesday, July 12, 2000, under a rating of TV-14.[2]

Reception

In a negative review, David Bianculli of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote, "One problem is that, after that premise, every frame of this telemovie is predictable. The more serious problem is suspension of disbelief: O'Grady is so beautiful in her own right that the 'image is everything' argument bears no weight."[7] VideoHound rated the film 2.5 bones.[8]

Phil Gallo of Variety was also critical, calling it a "joke-free "music-filled comedy" that mindlessly romps through the cliches of soap operas, the record industry and network movies of the week."[9]

References

  1. ^ Deming, Mark. "Lip Service (2000)". Rovi. Archived from the original on 2025-05-31. Retrieved 2025-05-31 – via Alibris.
  2. ^ a b c "Out of Sync (Lip Service 2000)". Filmaffinity. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  3. ^ "Out of Sync. Alternate title: Lip Service". British Film Institute. 2002. ProQuest 1745738700.
  4. ^ "Out of Sync 2000". Plex. 12 July 2000. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  5. ^ Alesia, Tom (2000-07-07). "Onion Editor Walks the Line of Hot or Not". Wisconsin State Journal. Archived from the original on 2025-05-31. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
  6. ^ Bernstein, Paula (2000-03-20). "VH1 Monkees with telepics". Variety. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
  7. ^ Bianculli, David (2000-07-12). "Best Bets". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Archived from the original on 2025-05-31. Retrieved 2025-05-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Craddock, Jim, ed. (2005). Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever 2006. Detroit: Gale. p. 498. ISBN 0-7876-8979-3. ISSN 1095-371X. Retrieved 2025-05-31 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ Gallo, Phil (2000-07-12). "Out of Sync". Variety. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
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