The Fighting Temptations | ||||
Jonathan Lynn Cuba Gooding Jr., Beyoncé Knowles, Mike Epps, LaTanya Richardson, Steve Harvey, Wendell Pierce, Rue McClanahan, Melba Moore, Faith Evans, Shirley Caesar, Montell Jordan, Eddie Levert, Faizon Love, T-Bone, the Blind Boys of Alabama 2003 |
Jumbling a simple feel-good movie with a romantic comedy and a musical, "The Fighting Temptations" means well, but it's too willing to stoop to dumb jokes, too bound by its "heart-melting" formula, and too neutered when it comes to its romance. It wears thin fast, and anyone can see where it's going before its characters do. Darrin Hill, played by a shrill Cuba Gooding Jr., is a scam artist who fibbed his way to success at a New York ad agency. Found out, fired and facing bankruptcy, he pins his hopes for salvation on a large inheritance awaiting him in Georgia. Darrin's late aunt, a pillar of the community in their hometown, remembered her nephew in her will with a catch. Darrin must start a local church choir, enter it in a state gospel competition and win the top prize, or he gets nothing. It happens that Darrin's boyhood crush Lilly grew up to become a silky-voiced jazz singer, played by delectable Beyoncé Knowles. Lilly could help the choir soar, unless it's grounded by a nasty biddy who's also after the inheritance. A few gags score, the supporting players are exuberant, and the gospel soundtrack is infectious. The film's undoing is its humdrum blueprint. With Mike Epps, Steve Harvey and LaTanya Richardson. | |||
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