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Who would have thought that temptation could be tiresome and yes, even boring. Unfortunately, that scenario happens in Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s latest film, The Fighting Temptations. The premise follows a cookie-cutter approach to Cuba's films of late, which is to have him try to inherit money by accomplishing a certain deed (reference: Snow Dogs and the champion dog team). What The Fighting Temptations becomes is a series of humorous vignettes interspersed with compelling gospel music and virtually no intact story.

The plot has Cuba working in a top New York ad agency. He is full of ideas and just as full of the idea of getting something for nothing. Credit cards are maxed out, work credentials are phony, and the law is after him. Viola! -- enter a conveniently deceased aunt and the reading of her will back home in Montecarlo, Georgia. One step ahead of the law, Cuba travels there. You can get fried chicken and a taxi at the same business in this town. In order to get the inheritance, he has to win a gospel choir contest with the local church choir. Well, there isn't a choir to speak of, and the minister (Wendell Pierce) is under the thumb of his overbearing sister (LaTanya Richardson) who rules the congregation with an iron fist. Also, when Cuba hears the lovely voice of a potential lead singer (Beyoncé Knowles), she can't join the choir because she is a (gasp) single parent. How Cuba ends up getting choir members (convicts) is funny, but this ingredient is only a small part of the film. The Fighting Temptations drags when the camera centers on cast members and lets them go on and on or the music auditions which, also, go on and on. A cut in the length of the film of 10 to 15 minutes would have made the movie easier to watch. The product placements here (excluding the time in a grocery store) are also quite obvious.

The Fighting Temptations pokes fun at choir members and church officials, plus the policy of high-powered ad agencies. The minister is supposed to lead the congregation, but his sister is the real power. Cuba's character learned his shiftless ways as a child when his mother (aunt? I never could figure it out) was not allowed to sing with the choir because she sang secular music. She took her son on the road with her, but kept in touch with the great-aunt back home in Georgia. Beyoncé Knowles has a fabulous voice and does a rendition of Fever that would melt wood, plus her acting improves with each film. It is Mike Epps who manages to steal all the scenes in which he is included. His car is one of the major jokes in the film.

The musical numbers stand out in this film, using the talents of the O'Jays and rapper T-Bone. However, when the music is finished, the story is lame with holes, such as why Cuba stays so long in the town before going to his great-aunt's home for some special letters. Actually, though Cuba Gooding, Jr. is the star, he is absent during the music numbers except for directorial arm waving and some leaps. The film brings good points to the forefront such as the intricacies of a congregation organization, or that the church accepts all, and then drops them. The Fighting Temptations does earn a PG-13 rating for language and sexual connotations.

Copyright 2003 Marie Asner
Submitted 9/16/03

I try to be open minded when I go to the movies. Even in the middle of a film I'm not enjoying, I'll remind myself to give the movie a chance--it might get better. But I know in my heart of hearts that some movies aren't going to be any good. So when I have to review that kind of flick, I buy myself Raisinettes and a Coke. I figure I might as well enjoy something.

The Fighting Temptations was a pop-and-candy movie. My friend Garth encouraged me not to judge the film before it started, but c'mon. It stars Cuba Gooding, Jr. Has there ever been a major Hollywood star with as many disasters on his resume as Cuba? What else can you call movies like Boat Trip, Psychic, Snow Dogs, Chill Factor, Instinct, and What Dreams May Come? When Pearl Harbor and Rat Race are two of your better films, that is not a list to be proud of. Furthermore, Fighting Temptations stars pop singer Beyonce Knowles (of Destiny's Child fame) as his love interest. Now, Beyonce has many charms, but acting isn't one of them. So I think I can be forgiven for picking up the Raisinettes before the movie started.

To be fair, the movie isn't terrible. It's a standard tale of city slicker finds truth and love in the rural South. Darrin Hill (Gooding, Jr.) is an advertising executive living in New York (of course on both counts). He's moving up the corporate ladder by finding ways to sell malt liquor to African Americans. Let the cliches fly! When his dear Aunt Sally passes away, he heads back to Monte Carlo, Georgia for the funeral. There, at the reading of the will, he finds out that Sally's dying wish was that he take over the church choir and lead it back to prominence. Darrin doesn't have any interest in that, but he hasn't heard the kicker. If (but only if) he can take the choir all the way to the annual Gospel Explosion, he'll inherit Aunt Sally's $150,000 portfolio of Georgia Telecom stock. You can take it from there. Just include the hypocritical church member who feels the choir is rightfully hers, the put-upon pastor struggling to keep order, the strange mix of choir members including token white folk, and Beyonce who gets to sing in a variety of styles.

The narrative might be formula, but at least the music is great. The opening gospel number sets the stage for the hoofing that follows. We get Rev. Shirley Caesar in a strong funeral song, the Blind Boys of Alabama
with their trademark harmonies, and rapper T-Bone in a strange fusion of hip hop and gospel that actually works. The non-gospel tracks are nothing to sneeze at, either. You can make fun of Beyonce all you want, but the gal can sing. Her version of "Fever" is smokin', as is her rendition of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." Adding their voices is the incredible vocal group The O'Jays, who play a trio of barbers (nice joke) who join the choir. Montell Jordan, Melba Moore, and Faith Evans are just three of the many other vocal
talents on display.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. doesn't seem to have any musical talent at all, so all he brings to the table is his acting. Fortunately, he doesn't mug as much as usual here, but still there's little evidence of the actor who received justifiable kudos for his work in Jerry Maguire and Boyz 'N the Hood. I'm not sure if Cuba doesn't try as hard as he used to (though you sure can see him sweat) or if his earlier performances were just flukes. Still, the farther away we get, the less it matters. His over-the-top style reeks of a desperate need to please, and it's none too flattering.

The secondary cast has some nice moments, though. I especially enjoyed Wendell Pierce (Brown Sugar) as the pastor trying to hold his flock together. His interaction with the various choir members was both amusing and realistic. Steve Harvey has a nice turn as a risque radio dj, and Mike Epps isn't bad as a supposed "player" who can't quite get the words out of his mouth. I'm not sure what Rue McClanahan ("Golden Girls") is doing here; it feels like her part was left in the editing room, unless it was always her intention to be the stupid white lady.

I'm also not sure what can be said for the final 20 minutes of The Fighting Temptations. It's an appalling display of screenwriting laziness. We even have the obligatory three-minute sequence in which Darrin goes back to New York and realizes "it's just not the same." The script inconsistencies that follow would be mind-boggling if anyone was actually using that part of their anatomy. Fortunately, all we have to do is use our ears for the music and our mouth for the Raisinettes.

J. Robert Parks 9/23/2003