The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story
The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story

The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story

2019Movie99 minEnglish

The life and crimes of boy band impresario Lou Pearlman. The film tracks his life from discovering NSYNC and Backstreet Boys, to his perpetration of one of the largest ponzi schemes in US history.

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Insights

IMDb7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes81%
Metacritic61/100
Google Users88%
Director: Aaron KunkelGenres: Documentary, Biography, Music

Plot Summary

This documentary delves into the life and crimes of Lou Pearlman, a music producer who rose to fame in the 1990s by creating and managing successful boy bands like NSYNC and Backstreet Boys. It chronicles his rise, the exploitation of young talent, and his eventual downfall due to massive fraud schemes. The film features interviews with many of the artists he managed, offering a firsthand account of his manipulative tactics and the devastating impact he had on their lives and careers.

Critical Reception

The documentary was generally well-received by critics for its thorough investigation into Lou Pearlman's life and the exploitation within the music industry. Reviewers often praised the candid interviews with former band members who bravely shared their experiences. While some found the pacing occasionally slow, the overall sentiment was that it provided a compelling and often shocking look at a significant figure in 90s pop music.

What Reviewers Say

  • Offers a compelling and often disturbing look at the dark side of the 90s music industry.
  • Features brave and insightful interviews from the artists who were exploited.
  • A well-researched documentary that sheds light on a notorious figure.

Google audience: Audiences largely appreciated the documentary for its in-depth exploration of Lou Pearlman's story and the impact on the musicians. Many found the interviews with former band members to be particularly impactful and revealing, highlighting the manipulative nature of Pearlman's business practices. Some viewers noted that the film effectively captured the rise and fall of an era in music.

Fun Fact

Lou Pearlman, despite his fraud convictions and prison sentence, maintained for a time that he was still owed money by NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys, even after their immense success.

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