The Fighting Temptations

I can not believe I almost forgot to write about this film. It was a rare one that I really enjoyed. It had some funny moments and some great music. Now I'm not saying this movie was perfect b/c it was far from it but it was very entertaining and sometimes that is what a movie is supposed to be. The acting was okay and Beyonce is not bad at acting and is great at singing. The plot was nothing monumental but it dealt with something my wife was actually going through at the time. I will definitely own this movie.

To my surprise, this was not a movie about the Temptations.

This is one of those cute "black" movies that makes white people wish they were black so they could have so much fun -- and I don't necessarily mean that in a cynical way. Others that come to mind are "The Preacher's Wife", "The Five Heartbeats"... I like movies like this, if only for relief from always seeing the same white actors on screen.

Of course, just like all Hollywood movies, it is total fantasy, and this one even more so seeing as it it was made by MTV (just check out the number of deleted music sequences on the DVD!).

And if you love gospel music (even some who don't), you will love this movie, despite the fact that it looks like the songs were written first and a script later to patch them all together, taking many shameless cues from "Sister Act" -- both One and Two.

The script is pretty lame in many parts -- mostly with Cuba Gooding's lines -- and the punch depends on the goings-on of mostly bit parts. LaTanya Richards as Paulina is extremely convincing as the self-righteous church treasurer, but there are no really strong protagonists (the only one around dies in the first fifteen minutes) so she pretty much controls the plot single- handedly.

The movie is all about cameos. Cameos, cameos cameos!! Even Shirley Caeser plays (who else?) herself ! ! They might as well have called Beyonce Beyonce and Cuba Cuba.

One other good thing I can say for the movie is the positive mixing of races it shows, among so many movies that tend to show mainly conflict among them. In my experience, the kind of mixing as shown in this movie is the real world, rather than the 99.9% black "Preacher's Wife", or for that matter 100% whiteness of so many movies. Sure, it may be fantasy (there is absolutely no racial tension present in this movie despite so much mingling), but I root for the positive image it projects.

If you are a cynic, this movie is not for you, but if you need some warm fuzzies, go for it!

High-class New York advertising executive Cuba Gooding, Jr. is fired for lying on his resume (firing someone for that is about as dumb as firing someone for killing a cockroach). Immediately following that he learns that his elderly aunt has died. He decides to go back to the town of his youth, a place he has always been ashamed of, and finds out that she wanted him to take over the job of conducting the choir in the local Baptist Church. Gooding does not show much interest until he learns that $150,000 is involved. Thus he passes himself off as a musical specialist with hit-and-miss comedic results. Beyonce Knowles sizzles, as she always seems to do, as a cocktail bar singer who has been banned from the congregation for having a child out of wedlock. Needless to say, the choir needs her though and it becomes apparent that Gooding needs her as well. Wendell Pierce is impressive as the church's minister and his annoying sister (LaTanya Richardson) ends up being the villain here. Lots of energy from the cast and some admittedly great vocals are not enough to endear "The Fighting Temptations". The main problems are Gooding's uneven character (it is hard to always like him) and a seemingly endless running time (going just over two hours, too long for a movie like this). Knowles is the greatest reason to watch. She downs Pepsi Colas and sings her heart out with vigor and intensity. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The song and dance and high energy expressions of faith and joy were a delight-- too bad the plot didn't have as much going for it.

Cuba Gooding is a remarkably talented guy, as in fact, were many of the cast members... the script just didn't give them much to work with. The plot is predictable and formulaic-- which isn't necessarily a terrible thing if it never-the-less shows you a really good time anyway. This movie tries to, but just falls flat whenever the music stops.

It was worth watching for the rousing good music, but certainly not something I feel any need to add to my dvd collection and ever watch again.

A firm family favourite. What's not to like? It'a LOL hoot with some amazing vocalists and great casting. Lighten up people :-)