This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Memorable, crazy movie

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Admirable film.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. is among one of the most likable actors I can think of, who always seems subjected to bottom-barrel dreck. His performance as Tre Styles, living on the wrong side of the town with a smart brother and a thug for a friend in John Singleton's Boyz N The Hood is one I recall as one of the strongest of the eighties and one of infinitely powerful emotional impact. On a lighter not, he too gave a quick-witted, inspired performance as a luckless schmuck in pursuit of $2,000,000 in Rat Race. In Jonathan Lynn's Fighting Temptations, his character is Darrin Hill, an advertising executive in New York, who roots stem from Monte Carlo, Georgia. He learns of his aunt Sally's death just as he was leaving his firm with all his things after being informed he was fired for having a resume consisting mainly of false pretenses. He flies down to Georgia to attend the church he did as a child, and is reacquainted with the heat, the atmosphere, and the backsides of the girls by Mike Epps' Luscious. Darrin, then, learns that his aunt left him $150,000 in her will if he can rebuild the church's choir from the ground-up in six weeks. Learning that those who willingly want to join are less than qualified, he holds auditions, wanders around town, and in the meantime, constantly tries to form a relationship with Beyoncé Knowles' Lilly, his crush at a young age who had her heart set on Michael Jackson.The story here is told with an alertness to its formula, yet a bounce in its step, fully capitalizing on the potential of Gooding, Jr. as an actor and Beyoncé Knowles as a screen presence. As someone who had no desire to watch any film Beyoncé went near and a distaste for her music, she is wonderful here, playing a character not as helpless or as self-consumed as I thought. She also isn't placed in the foreground either, nor does the film feel like it's simply capitalizing off her bankability as a singer. Her and Gooding, Jr. make a perfect pair.Yet what's really to praise and write home about with The Fighting Temptations is the soundtrack. The choir sequences are energized precisely to give them the added effect and extra boost they need to work. The little rap tune, "To Da River," that comes relatively late in the game, is about as catchy as any song can be, and so often do the songs break free from the depressing shackles of being trite or undercooked.If there's one point of "triteness" the film incorporates, it's the melodrama and Darrin's slightly smarmy attitude to the idea of running this choir and his romance, which is played out and redundant. It's not as painstakingly cheesy or as tiresome as it could've been (worse, more confused writing that is present in a melodramatic picture like Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman would've steered this film off the nearest cliff). Not to mention, if the film would've had, say, lesser performers, ones with not nearly as much drive, passion, or soul as the cast presented here, this would've spiraled further into lame, contrived mediocrity.There isn't too much in The Fighting Temptations, and it does go a tad too long, with a story that reaches the two hour mark. It's not great cinema by any stretch; it's the kind I call "Sunday morning-fare," the kind of film you tune into fifteen minutes after it started, watch till the credits, and resume your day unaffected in any way, positive or negative. As awkward of a statement this may be, there's worse "Sunday morning-fare" out there. Certainly it'd be harder to find one as nice, free-spirited, genial, and effervescent as this.Starring: Cuba Gooding, Jr. Beyoncé Knowles, Mike Epps, and Steve Harvey. Directed by: Jonathan Lynn.

Back in the days when Beyonce still needed a last name (and so in this movie she's Beyonce Knowles) somebody decided to make a movie. It's a bad movie, about a struggling church choir that has to turn itself around to win a big gospel music competition. Yes, there's definite shades of "Sister Act" here, and the engine that moves everything forward is a storyline that was exhausted decades ago - a guy inherits a bunch of money but has to do something crazy to get it. Beyonce can sing - thankfully - and they had some half decent singers helping her out - again, thankfully, because without a little bit of half decent music to listen to this would have been a truly dismal experience.The guy who inherits the money is Darrin Hill, a New York junior ad exec who loses his job when it's discovered that he faked his resume and then heads back home to Monte Carlo, Georgia, where his great aunt has just died. Aunt Sally has left him $150,000 - on condition that he take over as leader of the choir at the church he attended as a boy and leads them to victory at "Gospel Explosion." Since Darrin happens to have a lot of debt, he agrees, even though he knows nothing about music and cares little about the church. Darrin is played by Cuba Gooding, Jr., who looked miscast and uncomfortable in the role from beginning to end. Beyonce played Lilly, whom Darrin knew as a child at the church and who's now a lounge singer whom Darrin recruits to be the lead singer. Neither are welcomed by the pastor's sister (LaTanya Richardson), who has been the head of the choir and who basically runs the church and runs roughshod over her pastor brother (Wendell Pierce), since she sees both as unrepentant sinners, a feeling that grows as Darrin recruits anyone and everyone from the local barber to a bunch of prison inmates to help out. Richardson's character of Paulina is the absolutely required hypocritical church member - because there has to be a mean, nasty, hypocritical Christian in any movie featuring a church.If it weren't for the music (some of which is entertaining) dreadful would be sufficient to sum this movie up. The music raises it up one level to just plain awful. There's no charm in it, and while there are a few humorous scenes near the beginning, by a half hour in this has become a chore to try to watch. Eventually this becomes just plain irritating as we wait for what we know is going to be the inevitable outcome, hoping to just get this over with as soon as possible. For some absolutely mystifying reason, the cast even included as a choir member Rue McClanahan, who has virtually no lines, making me wonder if the producers just felt they needed a recognizable white face in this - because I honestly can't think of a single thing she contributed to the movie other than - well - a recognizable white face. (2/10)

Yes, the plot is minimal and formula. Of course Cuba's going to hook up with the girl. Of course, they'll win the competition. But that's not what the movie is all about. It's music and specifically Gospel. This movie has all kinds of Gospel; Traditional, Modern Urban, R&B-related and, yes, Christian Rap. Even if you're over 30, this movie will change your mind about Rap.Of course, Beyonce can't act. She's wooden and needs acting lessons. Who cares? The woman can sing and that's what the movie is all about. It's my first time to see Beyonce do Gospel and she does a decent job, showing the right emotion. Most Top 40 musicians can't make that transition. See Fighting Temptations as a Gospel celebration with a movie placed haphazardly in the way of the musical numbers.Back to the writing. One quibble is that you never get "slain in the Spirit" in a Baptist church. You've got to go to a Pentecostal church for that one. My other quibble is some of the comments by contributors who identify themselves as African-American think the rest of us won't get it because it's "too in". Actually, hypocrisy, greed, lies and credit card fraud cuts across all cultures and races. And, Oh yeah, every male is into booty. Nothing especially African-American about any of that.I'm in danger of repeating myself but, trust me on this, see it for the music.

Cuba Gooding Jr., purveyor of truly awful films such as "Boat Trip", "Snow Dogs" and "Chill Factor", has reached new depths with his latest offering, "The Fighting Temptations". He has now officially squandered any last remnants of goodwill he had left from his Oscar win for "Jerry Maguire" (his good movie) in 1997.I caught this film on an airplane flight from NY to LA, and let me tell you...even then I felt like I had wasted my time! Because I could have stared straight ahead at the seat in front of me and been more entertained! Other reviewers are defending this movie by talking about how great the music is. Fine, buy the soundtrack but whatever you do...DON'T SEE THIS MOVIE! Good music does not a good movie make! Go see Blues Brothers, which is a superior movie, plus has Gospel music sung by James Brown! Who, in case you were wondering, makes Beyonce Knowles look like...well, Beyonce Knowles! The acting in Temptations is beyond awful all around (Beyonce, we hardly knew ye) the insipid plot is embarrassingly predictable (guess who wins the gospel competition at the end of the film) and this movie has the distinction of having perhaps the fakest corporate meeting in the history of phony movie corporate meetings.Are we supposed to care about any of these characters? Gooding's character is a habitual liar that fakes his resume, leads a gospel choir because he wants his aunt's inheritance, and shamelessly hits on Beyonce Knowles. And we're supposed to care about him because...? But if you aren't looking for things such as plot, good acting or a well-written script, then by all means buy this DVD and put it on your shelf next to "Gigli", "Battlefield Earth", "From Justin to Kelly", and "Glitter", other films you must surely own.