2025 BET Awards: What is Luther: Never Too Much all about? Details explored as the Luther Vandross documentary wins 2025 BET Award for Best Movie

Luther: Never Too Much is a documentary film about the life and legacy of the R&B musician and certified platinum artist Luther Vandross. The film, written and directed by Dawn Porter, premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2024. It was later shown in select theaters across the United States on November 1, 2024, and then made its television debut on CNN on January 1, 2025.

Trish D Chetty, Ged Doherty, Jamie Foxx, Datari Turner, and Leah Smith are the producers of the film. The executive producers include Colin Firth, David Gottlieb, Eli Holzman, Lawrence Mestel, Tom Mackay, Natalia Nastaskin, and Phil Thornton.

The official synopsis of Luther: Never Too Much, as per Rotten Tomatoes, reads:

"The captivating story of Luther Vandross, from his early Sesame Street appearances to becoming the indisputable master of the love song. Using rare archives, Vandross shares his own story with insights from his closest collaborators."

Father and daughter come together to create Apple's cutest show HERE

Everything to know about the Luther: Never Too Much documentary

With a runtime of 1 hour and 41 minutes, Luther: Never Too Much takes a deep dive into the legendary singer Luther Vandross's life and career. It focuses on his nearly 40-year career in the music industry, starting with his big break on Sesame Street, singing background vocals for David Bowie, and embarking on his solo career.

Known as the Velvet Voice, Luther Vandross was a soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and music producer. He is seen as one of the most important and influential R&B artists of the 20th century. During his successful career, he sold over 40 million records worldwide and achieved 11 consecutive RIAA-certified platinum albums. Sadly, his growing career came to an early end when he died of a heart attack in July 2005 at the age of 54.

The documentary explores Vandross's remarkable life story, utilizing his old interviews, rare video clips, rehearsal recordings, and concert performances. Along with showcasing his career achievements, it also discusses his private love life and the challenges he faced with his fluctuating weight.

His close friends and regular collaborators, such as Fonzi Thornton, Carlos Alomar, and Robin Clark, share memories of the time they spent with the multi-talented artist. The film also features interviews with renowned stars, including Mariah Carey, Dionne Warwick, Jamie Foxx, Roberta Flack, Patti LaBelle, Marcus Miller, and Nile Rodgers, among others.

In addition, Luther: Never Too Much won the award for Outstanding Documentary at both the NAACP Image Awards and the Back Reel Awards.

Luther: Never Too Much was awarded at the 2025 BET Awards

The 2025 BET Awards were held on June 9, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California. The award show celebrates and honors the achievements of Black individuals in various fields, including movies, music, sports, charity work, and entertainment.

Luther: Never Too Much won the award for Best Movie at the event. Other films nominated in the same category included Bad Boys: Ride or Die, The Piano Lesson, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Rebel Ridge, One of Those Days, and The Six Triple Eight.

Other winners at the 2025 BET Awards included Denzel Washington (Gladiator II) and Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), who took home the awards for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively. WNBA player Angel Reese and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts were also named the Sportswoman/Sportsman of the Year.

The biggest winner of the night was Kendrick Lamar, who received 10 nominations and ultimately won five awards, including Album of the Year and Video of the Year. Chris Brown and SZA each took home two awards, while Doechii won one award. In addition, Jamie Foxx, Mariah Carey, Kirk Franklin, and Snoop Dogg were honored with the Ultimate Icon Award at the 2025 BET Awards.

About the author

Deepti is an entertainment writer at Sportskeeda. She comes with more than 6 years of experience in the creative writing field and has written extensively for the entertainment and travel domains.

She holds a degree in Chemistry, but her true interest always lay in the creative field. A passion for reading from a young age fueled her desire to make a career change later in life and take up writing as her profession.

Apart from reading, her hobbies include watching movies, listening to music, and going to the beach. In her free time, she can be found looking up reviews of new and old films to add to her watchlist. She also enjoys watching foreign language films that help expand her knowledge base regarding different cultures around the world.

Asked to describe herself, she would promptly mention that she is a die-hard Swiftie and enjoys nothing more than listening to Taylor Swift songs on loop while writing.

Know More

Edited by Maithreyi S