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Movies / On DVD / The Fighting Temptations
The Fighting Temptations

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The Fighting Temptations (2003)

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Reviews Counted:105

Fresh:44

Rotten:61

Average Rating:5.4/10

Consensus: The music is the only saving grace in this predictable and eager-to-please comedy.

Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Darrin Hill (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) has just lost his job with a New York advertising firm and bill collectors are chasing him all over the city. But just when he thinks his luck has completely run... Darrin Hill (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) has just lost his job with a New York advertising firm and bill collectors are chasing him all over the city. But just when he thinks his luck has completely run out, Darrin discovers he's the only surviving relative of his Aunt Sally who has just left him $150,000.00. Traveling back to his small hometown of Montecarlo, Georgia, to attend the funeral and collect his inheritance, Darrin soon discovers that Sally's written a tiny catch into her will. Her last wish is that her beloved nephew create a choir, enter it in the annual Gospel Explosion and bring home a victory. Between the bickering and the difficulties finding talented singers in the community, not to mention that his heart just isn't into the whole thing, Darrin has his work cut out for him... until he meets Lilly (Beyonce Knowles). A beautiful jazz singer with a voice to match, Lilly awakens feelings in Darrin he didn't know he had. Suddenly, collecting the money or heading back to New York City aren't important anymore, and he realizes that Aunt Sally left him something much more than an inheritance. -- © Paramount Pictures [More]

Starring: Cuba Gooding, Beyonce Knowles, Mike Epps, Latanya Richardson

Starring: Cuba Gooding, Beyonce Knowles, Mike Epps, Latanya Richardson, Steve Harvey, T-Bone, Wendell Pierce, Rue McClanahan

Director: Jonathan Lynn

Director: Jonathan Lynn
Screenwriter: Elizabeth Hunter, Saladin K. Patterson
Producer: David Gale, Loretha C. Jones, Jeff Pollack
Composer: Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, James "Big Jim" Wright
Studio: Paramount Pictures

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Reviews for The Fighting Temptations

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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Predictable but oh my what music!

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
09/19/03
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

The only real question in this flaccid narrative ... is when everybody will stop talking and start singing again.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/19/03
Michael O'Sullivan
Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post

May not be great cinema, but it's a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/19/03
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post

The filmmakers seem to have meant to offer up a spiritual message about community and faith, but it's muddled and hard to find with romance, comedy and phenomenal gospel performances all fighting for the spotlight.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
09/19/03
Angel Cohn
Angel Cohn
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Has practically nothing to recommend it save its music: Take that away and Jonathan Lynn's movie is as ordinary as an unsold TV pilot episode. But what music.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
09/19/03
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star

I've looked forward to Cuba Gooding Jr. movies as eagerly as I anticipate SPAM, but The Fighting Temptations breaks his streak of crumminess.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
09/19/03
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

If you're a gospel lover, you can probably overlook the technical flaws, especially if you see it in a crowded and enthusiastic theater.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
09/19/03
Phoebe Flowers
Phoebe Flowers
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

The Fighting Temptations exists for its rousing gospel soundtrack, which is at times so good that you can forgive the movie its flaws.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
09/19/03
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

The music is glorious.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
09/19/03
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle

Can this career be saved? After watching The Fighting Temptations, you may feel that Cuba Gooding Jr.'s may not.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
09/19/03
Jerry McCormick
Jerry McCormick
San Diego Union-Tribune

The most tuneful gospel movie since Say Amen, Somebody.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
09/19/03
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

A woefully thin and pointless musical comedy.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
09/19/03
Steven Rea
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer

The story is slapdash and most of the jokes are lame, but music by the Reverend Shirley Caesar and the Blind Boys of Alabama lends fleeting touches of a grace that's, um, amazing.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
09/19/03
Steve Schneider
Steve Schneider
Orlando Weekly

It's not graceful. It's not smart. But it's sweet and cute, and that will do until a real romantic comedy comes along.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
09/19/03
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

Gooding is off key and mugs and plops like a second-rate sitcom actor.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
09/19/03
Kim Morgan
Kim Morgan
Oregonian

A messy, sprawling family barbecue of a movie that barely gets by on salesmanship, energy and maybe more than a little chicanery.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
09/19/03
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday

When Gooding and Knowles appear together, they drain off energy like batteries hooked in reverse.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
09/19/03
Bob Campbell
Bob Campbell
Newark Star-Ledger

A hoot and a holler.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
09/19/03
Megan Lehmann
Megan Lehmann
New York Post

A raucous gospel comedy that's as broad as co-star Beyonce Knowles' vowels and chockablock with foot-stomping, up-with-the-choir music that will have even atheists praising the Lord.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
09/19/03
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News

Its musical sequences could make the most hardened atheist want to go to church.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
09/19/03
Connie Ogle
Connie Ogle
Miami Herald
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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Latest News for The Fighting Temptations

June 14, 2005: In Other News...the Wayans Bros., Destiny's Child, and Katie Holmes
Watch out, Warner Bros., there might soon be a new WB studio in town -- as in, Wayans Brothers. More...

April 29, 2003: Bad Cuba Gooding Jr. press be damned! Snow Dogs tallied $81 million, and starring opposite one of the world's biggest pop stars can't hurt. Opens in new window
More...

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