MOVIE REVIEW

Fighting Temptations, The  (2003)

Starring: Cuba Gooding, Jr., Beyoncé Knowles
Director: Jonathan Lynn

Rating: PG-13

Studio: Paramount

Release Date: 9.19.03

Review Posted: 9.19.03

Spoilers: None

By Christopher T. Bryan

"Temptations" a Cookie-Cutter Gospel Send-Up

The only Hallelujah or Amen that I muttered during this gospel music send-up guised behind rap, hip-hop and R&B came when the credits finally started to roll. After nearly two hours of music videos interspersed with some sort of nonsense story line, I could visualize the scene that must have occurred to get this movie produced.  Needing something to fill the void between the summer blockbuster season and the holiday Oscar contender season; a Hollywood intern comes across the Sister Act script somewhere deep in a forgotten filing cabinet and decides that a real winner of a movie would be to replace Whoopi with Cuba Gooding, Jr. and just for good measure throw in Beyoncé Knowles. Nobody remembers Sister Act anymore, right? At least with these two in the lead roles the studio should be able to scare up a few million dollars. “Good idea”, grumbles a faceless suit, “now where’s my coffee?”

Darrin Fox (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) is an ad executive in New York City. He hails from Monte Carlo, that’s in Georgia, mind you. He has no qualm in falsifying this information along with just about everything else in his life. It seems that Darrin has used credit cards to buy his way into high society while forgetting his roots. He is brought quickly back into reality when his aunt dies and he must return to Monte Carlo for the funeral and reading of the Will. It seems that Darrin’s aunt has left him $150,000. In order to get this money he must first spend the night in a haunted mansion…. Wait a minute, that’s an entirely different film. In this one he has to get a gospel choir together and win a singing competition.

With the end of his credit problems nearly in his grasp Darrin must put together a gospel choir. Much to his luck he finds Beyoncé Knowles singing in a local nightclub.  O.K. it’s not really Beyoncé, it’s Lilly who is portrayed by Beyoncé. I often look back fondly at the small town I spent a number of years growing up in… for some reason I don’t remember there being a nightclub; it seems that everyone pretty much hung out on their front porch and/or at the nearest Wal-Mart. I digress, with Lilly in place as both the choir’s new lead singer and Darrin’s love interest there is a sudden hope that the choir may win this competition, debt collectors will quit hounding Darrin and world peace is just a high C away.

What saves this film from being completely putrid is the music, which I must admit induced some foot tapping. Nearly every actor involved is in some respect renowned in their particular musical expertise. The movie starts with a rousing gospel number and the soundtrack meanders through various genres pausing lengthily at rap, hip-hop and R&B, all of which can trace their roots to gospel music. The true surprise was the three orange-clad prisoners led by T-Bone who jumped up and rattled off some rhymes so fast that Vanilla Ice’s head would have spun.

I feel that Cuba Gooding, Jr. is one of Hollywood’s biggest wastes of talent and The Fighting Temptations does nothing to change this opinion. Hopefully the upcoming Radio will give Gooding a chance to prove himself once again. What Temptations lacks in intelligence it attempts to make up for with Beyoncé’s booty. Roles in Austin Powers and now The Fighting Temptations have offered Beyoncé the chance to appear on the big-screen without too much acting involved. Co-star Mike Epps’ description of bootylicious southern women is a rare moment of good writing paired with excellent comic timing. Steve Harvey appears as a DJ in an unneeded and pointless role.

The Fighting Temptations is video store material. It is a cookie cutter movie that offers no new insights on an idea that has already been played out to its full extent.  It’s not as original as Sister Act and doesn’t push the envelope like Eminem’s 8 Mile.

Rating: ê  (out of 4)

TOP