Lip Service [DVD]

(Spoiler Alert!)This made-for-TV feature is about a producer/songwriter named Roger "Deac" Deacon who is quite gifted, yet coming out of a drug/alcohol-adled losing streak and a housewife/mother named Maggie Stanley with a golden voice, golden hair, a troubled family life and a more-than-mild case of stage fright.The story starts with Deac (portrayed by Peter Outerbridge) trying to find the right match for new material he's written to end his losing streak. He's approached by an entertainment mogul named Sidney Golden ((Harvey Atkin) to write and produce the debut album by a new face-with-an-attitude named Sunni (Kari Wuhrer). Deac is disappointed to find she can't carry a tune in a cement mixer. In a slump, he goes to an Italian restaurant downstairs from his home studio and hears Maggie (Gale O'Grady) singing the Carpenters classic, "Rainy Days and Mondays" in a near-paralyzed state of fright. Deac is mesmerized and tells Maggie where to find him.The next day, she gives Deac a call (though skeptical about his compliments of her singing) and ends up doing a take of the first song Sunni laid down. Eventually, Deac gets Maggie to record an album's worth of songs, then allows an associate named Lowell Levitt (Stewart Bick) to pass her voice off as Sunni's. The album is packaged, videos are made, and Sunni becomes a household name. Maggie can't convince anybody from her family (who she kept in the dark about recording the songs) that it's her voice and not Sunni's. She confronts Deac, his engineer named Buddo and Levitt about the conspiracy and gets doors slammed in her face. Levitt isn't interested in what Sidney will do if he learns his young client can't sing.Her son, Josh Stanley (Serial Joe guitarist/vocalist Ryan Dennis) is trying to get his band's demo heard by the same people who package Sunni's album. After Josh gets a letter of rejection, he approaches Sunni at an autograph signing to give the music a listen, as well as giving a live show. Maggie knows Sunni's real nature and tries to win back her son's affection by signing Sunni's name to a thank you note. He doesn't trust his mother and buys a ticket to the upcoming concert. Meanwhile, Levitt gets Buddo to pilfer the master tapes so the fans will think Sunni is really singing.Coming to his senses and willing to accept the consequences if Sidney finds out the truth, Deac manages to sneak himself and Maggie into the concert venue. Slipping past Levitt and cornering Buddo in the control room, Deac accosts his engineer for stealing the tapes and forces him to work with him in exposing Sunni for her inability to sing. Maggie is introduced as the real voice, and she overcomes her stage fright to give a wonderful, heartfelt performance. While Levitt is beside himself with rage, Sidney and Maggie's son Josh (both near the foot of the stage) are profoundly impressed with the performance.For an epilogue, the film closes with the Josh Stanley Band (comprising the members of Serial Joe) in Deac's studio cutting the song from their demo with Maggie singing along with Josh. Her husband and daughter are there during the session.When this movie was first aired on TV, it was called Out of Sync. It was given the title Lip Service for the DVD publication. The first couple of times I saw the movie, I remember tuning in to VH1 and picking it up partway through. I immediately knew it was like a backward version of the Milli Vanilli saga (along with Singing in the Rain). Ironically, Gale (better known for her role on NYPD Blue) was lip syncing to a singer named Karen LeBlanc. But, it's very convincing, since Karen's singing voice is similar in character to Gale's talking voice. And Kari Wuhrer really can sing; she was pointedly sounding as though she couldn't sing, here. It's definitely a movie worth watching, especially when you consider the ending, which showcases how much more emphasis is placed on image than musical prowess. Just ask Susan Boyle about that.

I am so glad to see this movie on DVD! The movie, originally titled Out of Sync, first aired on VH1 back in 2000. I remember thinking that it was well scripted and great for Vh1's Behind the Music era. Grab this DVD, its a great value for the price. If you decide not to keep it, then it isnt a huge loss and you can always resell it on Amazon's Marketplace.

I admit I picked this up because of Kari Wuhrer. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed the story to this movie. You can tell that it had a small budget but the three main actors involved did great in their respective roles. I even found myself laughing out loud a few times to some great one liners. It is well written and better than some of the so called blockbuster movies that have a big budget and no substance. This movie someday, might even become a cult classic. It deserves more attention than it gets and I would recommend buying this dvd and watching it on a saturday night. You will be pleasantly surprised.

This is a nice movie. The is good but the plot is a little thin. Similar to Singing in the Rain

I had lost my original copy and ordered a replacement. I've watched this movie at least 20 times and just love it.

Great movie happy i have copy fun movie

Doesn't play, I am going to send it back when I get paid shortly.

ive seen this movie on tv years ago i like the video a lot better it is a very good movie to watch any time i am glade i bought it on amazon when i saw it.

THANKS CAME WITHIN A FEW DAYS AN ENJOYABLE MIOVIE DVD!