Let me first say every one of these girls did an incredible job of portraying their counterparts (Drew Sidora as T-Boz, Lil Mama as Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez, and Keke Palmer as Rozonda "Chili" Thomas). Much like Gina Gorshon in House of Versace they portrayed them not tried to act like them. Voice, hand gestures, hell even the way they tilt their head and chew gum...EVERYTHING! Sidenote: The guys who played Dalvin from Jodeci (Demontrez Spears) and Andre Risen (Rico Ball) were FINE AS HELL...GAWD DAYUM! Random hot guy sighting: Anyone notice Donny Boaz as Bill Diggins from his role as Larry Birkhead in The Anna Nicole Smith Story on Lifetime?
This is a Cinderella story with TLC being Cinderella and Perri "Pebbles" Reid as the evil Stepmother. Up to the point TBoz went into the hospital for a Sickle Cell crisis I was just thinking Pebbles was that tough teacher who you hate at the time, but would remember. The moment she said to the doctor "Well we're gonna lose money..." changed my mind. I don't know if this is an accurate portrayal of Pebbles a woman worth $25 million, but because TBoz and Chili are listed as Executive Producer I think it may be 100% true. And Antonio "LA" Reid knew EXACTLY what was going on as did Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. Why are they not vilified as Pebbles is? The thievery of TLC needs to be spread not focused on ONE PERSON! I said it on Twitter and I'll say it here.
About the performances Lil Mama as Left Eye was THE breakout star; Holy moly she embodied no POSSESSED Left Eye. WOW! I liked Drew Sidora as TBoz, but the fake nose was distracting. Keke Palmer as Chili looked bored; she did a good job, but the dancing and singing seemed like she wanted to be ANYWHERE else except portraying Chili in the TLC movie. I couldn't tell if Evan Ross as Dallas Austin was real as Dallas is very quiet/private about his life.
One thing I loved loved loved was how in archive interviews and videos it was the actors NOT the real people. It made the movie flow through the entire time for me. Also I love how they used ALL of the TLC music (popular and rarely used). One thing I did not love is how it would drop things without explanation or a scene: Crystal got ditched from the group without a scene and Pebbles was fired as their manager without a scene. These were two very BIG moments in the TLC history; they deserved a scene. And what about the scene of WHY Left Eye visited Honduras or how they found Bill Diggins their new manager? Nor did they explain why the style change from "Aint to Proud to Beg" to "CrazySexyCool." And was there a reason for the entire video remake of "No Scrubs?" No comprendo. The plotholes in total made it a 4 for me over a 5. I loved the fact this story was even told and the truths that came out.
Some truths: what lead to Lisa's sneaker burning incident, TBoz's fight with Sickle Cell, and the Chili/Dallas relationship. Their friendship made me love the group all over again (supporting each other emotionally, shots of Lisa writing on the toilet, and the creative process of making an album).
At the end hearing/seeing the real TBoz and Chili record MTB (Meant to Be) which is a significant line in the movie AND their new single was the perfect ending.