The Fighting Temptations
Encyclopedia
The Fighting Temptations is a 2003 American musical dramedy film
produced by Paramount Pictures and MTV Films
. It stars Cuba Gooding, Jr.
as the film's protagonist as he attempts to revive a church choir in order to enter a gospel competition with the help of a beautiful lounge singer (Beyoncé Knowles
) with whom he soon falls in love.
The film is notable for its soundtrack and all star cast
.
) are run out of town after MaryAnn was discovered to be singing secular music when she sings in a church choir also. Their aunt Sally (Ann Nesby
) tries to defend MaryAnn but it fails. The church's pastor Reverend Lewis (Wendell Pierce
) is too afraid of the other church members to let her stay. MaryAnn and Darrin are last seen saying goodbye to Aunt Sally, as they sadly wave goodbye to each other.
Years later in the present day (then 2003), Darrin (Cuba Gooding, Jr.
) has grown up to become a successful advertising executive in New York with a bad habit of lying. His best friend and secretary Rosa Lopez (Lourdes Benedicto
) does a good job at keeping his credit problems under control. However, Darrin has achieved so much under false pretenses. He faked his college degree and high school diploma. He also lied about being the son of a congressman. His lies soon catch up with him and get him in trouble with his paranoid boss (Dakin Matthews
) and he loses his job. After being tracked down by a private investigator, he finds out that his Aunt Sally has died.
A day later he travels back to his hometown in Monte Carlo
, Georgia and looks back on both comical and heartbreaking memories of his late mother and the experiences they had together. When he arrives he finds a new friendship in Lucious (Mike Epps
), the town's happy-go-lucky cab driver. Lucious is obsessed with women's booties
and even proclaims himself a "Booty expert" and "Bootyologist".
After the funeral, Darrin learns from Reverend Lewis that Aunt Sally stated in her will that he must direct the church choir and enter the annual "Gospel Explosion" competition and win the prize money of $10,000 and Sally's stock in the company that produces the show which is worth $150,000 dollars. The main problem he must deal with is the wicked church treasurer Paulina (Latanya Richardson
) who is also the reverend's sister and the same woman who bullied MaryAnn into leaving Monte Carlo. Paulina despises Darrin because of his late mother and she also thinks he stole her "dream job" as choir director, as she has waited years for Sally to pass away. Later that night, he and Lucious go to a night club and there, Darrin reunites with his old childhood crush named Lilly (Beyoncé Knowles
) who happens to the tavern's headliner. He first hears her sing at the club when she performs "Fever
". He tries to flirt with her but she coldly rejects him by saying she has a jealous "boyfriend" named Dean. After many failed auditions, he finally finds good singers but the only problem is that most of them want to get paid. He cons them into the choir by saying that he'll pay them half of the prize money. In actuality, he has no intentions of paying anybody. After a stressful effort, he finally convinces Lilly to join the choir, and he also bonds with Dean thereafter, who is actually her 9 year old son she had out of wedlock.
Later on, Darrin forgot to enter the choir into the auditions. Luckily for them, the audition judge who is also the town's prison warden, Luther Washington (Faizon Love
) lets them perform for his prisoners and if they did well they were in the show. Thanks to Lilly's beautiful looks and voice, they perform well and Washington lets them in. Washington also lets Darrin use three convicts who can sing well. The three convicts are Bee-Z Briggs (T-Bone
), Lightfoot (Chris Cole) and Mr. Johnson (Montell Jordan
). The latter of whom, has a high-pitched voice and is very sensitive about it and is willing to kill people who find it amusing.
After weeks of success, the choir has become more popular, more people have joined the church and the choir. Darrin also begins dating Lilly Unfortunately, Paulina receives a phone call from Rosa and learns of his past troubles and intends on exposing him the first chance she gets.
The next afternoon at a church barbecue, Paulina deliberately reveals Darrin's secrets with a polite demeanor, in order to make herself look innocent. Lilly is both furious and heartbroken about this and the people who he promised money to begin to panic. Lilly tells him that she doesn't care what he does and she was only using him because he was using her. Since Lilly wants nothing to do with him now, he decides to quit and go back to New York where he has been offered his job back. He goes back and gets a new condo and a promotion. He comes to realize that none of these things mean anything without Lilly and the choir.
He quits his job and returns to Monte Carlo and reconciles with Lilly and Lucious. The three of them recruit the Reverend and they go down to the Gospel Explosion to stop Paulina. When they arrive, they manage to convince the others to vote her out of the choir. Before their performance begins, Darrin tells Lilly that she inspired him to name the choir The Fighting Temptations.
After an outstanding performance, the choir wins the competition but before Darrin ends his acceptance speech, he asks Lilly to marry him and she accepts. Eighteen months later, they are married with a baby. Paulina is welcomed back into the choir after having dropped her hypocritical ways.
As the film ends (in a pre-credits scene), Lucious asks Darrin and Lilly's baby "You know I'm your daddy, right?" but Lilly's grandfather hears this and gives Lucious a mean stare. Lucious immediately backs away from the baby and says he was just joking.
Cameos
However, the film itself received generally mixed to negative reviews upon its release. The film was criticized for its weak and unoriginal plot and the poor chemistry between the film's lead actors (Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyoncé Knowles) as well as their noticeable age difference.
In addition, some audiences were dissatisfied with the significance Steve Harvey's role in the film. In the film's advertising, Harvey was depicted to have had a major role in the film but his role is actually minor with little screentime.
The movie was a moderate success, with a worldwide gross of US$
32,445,215.
Despite the mixed reviews the film opened at #2. Notably, Ebert & Roeper
reviewed the film and Roger Ebert
gave it thumbs up, while Richard Roeper
gave it thumbs down.
However, the cast themselves were very pleased with the film, citing its uplifting story and soundtrack. Gooding has confessed in several interviews following the film's release that he enjoyed filming his kissing scenes with Knowles. In a 2011 interview on The Late Late Show
, Gooding made a humorous reference to this by saying: (In the false words of the host) "Didn't he make love with Beyoncé on the set of something?".
also recorded a song for the film called "Shine
" but it failed to make the final cut of the film as well as the soundtrack. The most obvious reference to this is the fact that Vandross frequently says the title of the film in the song. The song "Come Back Home" appears in the film, but was not included in the soundtrack album.
In 2008, the film was reissued with new cover art. However, the disc art is the same as the original release.
It has yet to be released on Blu-Ray.
, (who had a supporting role in the film), for HollywoodJesus.com, he stated that he hoped the film performed well because all of the principal actors had signed on for a sequel. But as of 2011, nothing has been announced about a sequel. More than likely, a sequel will not be made due to the film barely making its budget during its theatrical run and the mixed reviews the film received.
, VH1
and it frequently airs on TBS
commonly during early morning hours or late night hours.
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
produced by Paramount Pictures and MTV Films
MTV Films
MTV Films is the motion picture production arm of cable channel MTV. Founded in 1996, it has produced films based on MTV programs such as Beavis and Butt-head Do America and Jackass: The Movie, as well as other adaptations and original projects. Its films are released by fellow Viacom division...
. It stars Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Cuba M. Gooding, Jr. is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning portrayal of Rod Tidwell in Cameron Crowe's 1996 film Jerry Maguire, and his critically acclaimed performance as Tré Styles in John Singleton's 1991 film Boyz n the Hood.-Early life:Gooding was born...
as the film's protagonist as he attempts to revive a church choir in order to enter a gospel competition with the help of a beautiful lounge singer (Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
) with whom he soon falls in love.
The film is notable for its soundtrack and all star cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
.
Plot
The film opens in 1980, where a young boy named Darrin Hill and his mother MaryAnn (Faith EvansFaith Evans
Faith Renée Evans is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, record producer, actress and author. Born in Florida and raised in New Jersey, Evans relocated to Los Angeles during 1993 for a career with the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B...
) are run out of town after MaryAnn was discovered to be singing secular music when she sings in a church choir also. Their aunt Sally (Ann Nesby
Ann Nesby
Ann Nesby is an American R&B, gospel, and dance music singer and actress. She is the former lead singer of Sounds of Blackness; a songwriter with credits including hits sung by Patti Labelle and Gladys Knight; plus she co-starred in the 2003 romance musical The Fighting Temptations with Cuba...
) tries to defend MaryAnn but it fails. The church's pastor Reverend Lewis (Wendell Pierce
Wendell Pierce
Wendell Pierce is an American actor, best known for his work in HBO dramas, including his portrayal of Detective Bunk Moreland in The Wire and trombonist Antoine Batiste in Treme.-Life and career:...
) is too afraid of the other church members to let her stay. MaryAnn and Darrin are last seen saying goodbye to Aunt Sally, as they sadly wave goodbye to each other.
Years later in the present day (then 2003), Darrin (Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Cuba M. Gooding, Jr. is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning portrayal of Rod Tidwell in Cameron Crowe's 1996 film Jerry Maguire, and his critically acclaimed performance as Tré Styles in John Singleton's 1991 film Boyz n the Hood.-Early life:Gooding was born...
) has grown up to become a successful advertising executive in New York with a bad habit of lying. His best friend and secretary Rosa Lopez (Lourdes Benedicto
Lourdes Benedicto
Lourdes Benedicto is an American actress of Filipino/Dominican descent. She is most well known for her starring role as Eva Rios on The Nine, and for her role as Alicia Lawson on the short-lived series Cashmere Mafia. She is primarily known as a television actress, but has been in a few...
) does a good job at keeping his credit problems under control. However, Darrin has achieved so much under false pretenses. He faked his college degree and high school diploma. He also lied about being the son of a congressman. His lies soon catch up with him and get him in trouble with his paranoid boss (Dakin Matthews
Dakin Matthews
Dakin Matthews is an American actor with a long history of work in film, television and theater. He is also a playwright, director, and theatrical scholar.-Life and career:...
) and he loses his job. After being tracked down by a private investigator, he finds out that his Aunt Sally has died.
A day later he travels back to his hometown in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, Georgia and looks back on both comical and heartbreaking memories of his late mother and the experiences they had together. When he arrives he finds a new friendship in Lucious (Mike Epps
Mike Epps
Michael Elliot "Mike" Epps is an American stand-up comedian, actor, film producer, writer, singer, and rapper. He is best known for playing Day-Day Jones in Next Friday and the sequel-to-the-sequel, Friday After Next, and also starring alongside Ice Cube in All About the Benjamins...
), the town's happy-go-lucky cab driver. Lucious is obsessed with women's booties
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...
and even proclaims himself a "Booty expert" and "Bootyologist".
After the funeral, Darrin learns from Reverend Lewis that Aunt Sally stated in her will that he must direct the church choir and enter the annual "Gospel Explosion" competition and win the prize money of $10,000 and Sally's stock in the company that produces the show which is worth $150,000 dollars. The main problem he must deal with is the wicked church treasurer Paulina (Latanya Richardson
Latanya Richardson
LaTanya Estelle Richardson is an American actress and television producer. She graduated from Spelman College in 1974. While at Spelman, she met actor Samuel L. Jackson who would later become her husband. She and Jackson married in 1980 and have one daughter, named Zoe...
) who is also the reverend's sister and the same woman who bullied MaryAnn into leaving Monte Carlo. Paulina despises Darrin because of his late mother and she also thinks he stole her "dream job" as choir director, as she has waited years for Sally to pass away. Later that night, he and Lucious go to a night club and there, Darrin reunites with his old childhood crush named Lilly (Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
) who happens to the tavern's headliner. He first hears her sing at the club when she performs "Fever
Fever (1956 song)
"Fever" is a song written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell, who used the pseudonym John Davenport. It was originally recorded by Little Willie John in 1956. It has been covered by numerous artists from various musical genres, notably Peggy Lee in 1958....
". He tries to flirt with her but she coldly rejects him by saying she has a jealous "boyfriend" named Dean. After many failed auditions, he finally finds good singers but the only problem is that most of them want to get paid. He cons them into the choir by saying that he'll pay them half of the prize money. In actuality, he has no intentions of paying anybody. After a stressful effort, he finally convinces Lilly to join the choir, and he also bonds with Dean thereafter, who is actually her 9 year old son she had out of wedlock.
Later on, Darrin forgot to enter the choir into the auditions. Luckily for them, the audition judge who is also the town's prison warden, Luther Washington (Faizon Love
Faizon Love
Faizon Andre Love is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for roles in the films Friday, Elf, Made, and Couples Retreat.-Life and career:...
) lets them perform for his prisoners and if they did well they were in the show. Thanks to Lilly's beautiful looks and voice, they perform well and Washington lets them in. Washington also lets Darrin use three convicts who can sing well. The three convicts are Bee-Z Briggs (T-Bone
T-Bone (rapper)
T-Bone is a Christian rapper. His father is Nicaraguan and his mother is Salvadoran. His name came from being called 'Bones' as a youngster because he was very skinny...
), Lightfoot (Chris Cole) and Mr. Johnson (Montell Jordan
Montell Jordan
Montell Jordan is a former American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. Jordan became the main solo male artist on its Def Soul imprint until leaving the label in 2003. Of his live performances it is often regarded that he is a rock oriented musician, with Jordan even going as far as to...
). The latter of whom, has a high-pitched voice and is very sensitive about it and is willing to kill people who find it amusing.
After weeks of success, the choir has become more popular, more people have joined the church and the choir. Darrin also begins dating Lilly Unfortunately, Paulina receives a phone call from Rosa and learns of his past troubles and intends on exposing him the first chance she gets.
The next afternoon at a church barbecue, Paulina deliberately reveals Darrin's secrets with a polite demeanor, in order to make herself look innocent. Lilly is both furious and heartbroken about this and the people who he promised money to begin to panic. Lilly tells him that she doesn't care what he does and she was only using him because he was using her. Since Lilly wants nothing to do with him now, he decides to quit and go back to New York where he has been offered his job back. He goes back and gets a new condo and a promotion. He comes to realize that none of these things mean anything without Lilly and the choir.
He quits his job and returns to Monte Carlo and reconciles with Lilly and Lucious. The three of them recruit the Reverend and they go down to the Gospel Explosion to stop Paulina. When they arrive, they manage to convince the others to vote her out of the choir. Before their performance begins, Darrin tells Lilly that she inspired him to name the choir The Fighting Temptations.
After an outstanding performance, the choir wins the competition but before Darrin ends his acceptance speech, he asks Lilly to marry him and she accepts. Eighteen months later, they are married with a baby. Paulina is welcomed back into the choir after having dropped her hypocritical ways.
As the film ends (in a pre-credits scene), Lucious asks Darrin and Lilly's baby "You know I'm your daddy, right?" but Lilly's grandfather hears this and gives Lucious a mean stare. Lucious immediately backs away from the baby and says he was just joking.
Cast
- Cuba Gooding Jr. as Darrin Hill
- Beyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
as Lilly - Mike EppsMike EppsMichael Elliot "Mike" Epps is an American stand-up comedian, actor, film producer, writer, singer, and rapper. He is best known for playing Day-Day Jones in Next Friday and the sequel-to-the-sequel, Friday After Next, and also starring alongside Ice Cube in All About the Benjamins...
as Lucious - Latanya RichardsonLatanya RichardsonLaTanya Estelle Richardson is an American actress and television producer. She graduated from Spelman College in 1974. While at Spelman, she met actor Samuel L. Jackson who would later become her husband. She and Jackson married in 1980 and have one daughter, named Zoe...
as Paulina Lewis-Pritchett - Wendell PierceWendell PierceWendell Pierce is an American actor, best known for his work in HBO dramas, including his portrayal of Detective Bunk Moreland in The Wire and trombonist Antoine Batiste in Treme.-Life and career:...
as Reverend Paul Lewis - Ann NesbyAnn NesbyAnn Nesby is an American R&B, gospel, and dance music singer and actress. She is the former lead singer of Sounds of Blackness; a songwriter with credits including hits sung by Patti Labelle and Gladys Knight; plus she co-starred in the 2003 romance musical The Fighting Temptations with Cuba...
as Aunt Sally - Lourdes BenedictoLourdes BenedictoLourdes Benedicto is an American actress of Filipino/Dominican descent. She is most well known for her starring role as Eva Rios on The Nine, and for her role as Alicia Lawson on the short-lived series Cashmere Mafia. She is primarily known as a television actress, but has been in a few...
as Rosa Lopez - Dakin MatthewsDakin MatthewsDakin Matthews is an American actor with a long history of work in film, television and theater. He is also a playwright, director, and theatrical scholar.-Life and career:...
as Mr. Fairchild - T-BoneT-Bone (rapper)T-Bone is a Christian rapper. His father is Nicaraguan and his mother is Salvadoran. His name came from being called 'Bones' as a youngster because he was very skinny...
as Briggs (Convict #1) - Montell JordanMontell JordanMontell Jordan is a former American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. Jordan became the main solo male artist on its Def Soul imprint until leaving the label in 2003. Of his live performances it is often regarded that he is a rock oriented musician, with Jordan even going as far as to...
as Mr. Johnson (Convict #2) - Lou MyersLou MyersLou Myers was a cartoonist and short story writer.He was the first person since James Thurber to contribute both cartoons and articles to The New Yorker...
as Homer - Angie StoneAngie StoneAngie Stone is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She has been nominated for three Grammy Award. She is more successful on the charts R&B charts, with four Top 10 albums, forms including a number one album and 10 singles on the R&B chart,...
as Alma - Melba MooreMelba MooreBeatrice Melba Smith , known by her stage name, Melba Moore is an American disco, R&B singer and actress. She is the daughter of saxophonist Teddy Hill and R&B singer Bonnie Davis.-Early life:...
as Bessie - Mitchah Williams as Jimmy B.
- Mickey JonesMickey JonesMickey Jones is an American musician and actor.-Early life:Jones was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Frances Marie and Fred Edward Jones...
as Scooter - Dave SheridanDave SheridanDavid Christopher "Dave" Sheridan is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He is perhaps best known for his performance as Special Officer Doofy in the comedy Scary Movie .-Career:...
as Bill the mechanic - Rue McClanahanRue McClanahanRue McClanahan was an American actress, best known for her roles on television as Vivian Harmon on Maude, Fran Crowley on Mama's Family, and Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls, for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1987.-Early life:McClanahan was born Eddie Rue...
as Nancy - Lil ZaneLil ZaneZane Copeland, Jr. , better known as Zane , is a rapper born in Yonkers, New York and raised in Atlanta, Georgia...
as Derek - Mae Middleton as Tasha
- Eddie LevertEddie LevertEdward "Eddie" Levert is an American singer, and is the lead vocalist of the soul/funk/R&B vocal group, The O'Jays.Levert was born in Bessemer, Alabama, but was raised in Canton, Ohio. While attending high school, he met buddies Walter Williams, Bill Isles, Bobby Massey, and William Powell...
as Joseph - Walter WilliamsThe O'JaysThe O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1963 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert , Walter Williams , William Powell , Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005...
as Frank - Eric Nolan GrantThe O'JaysThe O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1963 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert , Walter Williams , William Powell , Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005...
as Samuel - Darrell Vanterpool as Dean
- Faizon LoveFaizon LoveFaizon Andre Love is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for roles in the films Friday, Elf, Made, and Couples Retreat.-Life and career:...
as Luther Washington (Prison Warden) - Faith EvansFaith EvansFaith Renée Evans is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, record producer, actress and author. Born in Florida and raised in New Jersey, Evans relocated to Los Angeles during 1993 for a career with the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B...
as MaryAnn Hill - Steve HarveySteve HarveyBroderick Steven "Steve" Harvey is an American actor, comedian, entertainer, television and radio personality and best-selling author. He is best known as the star of the WB sitcom The Steve Harvey Show, and as one of the four comedians featured in the Spike Lee film The Original Kings of Comedy...
as Miles Smoke - James E. Gaines as Lilly's grandfather
- Chris Cole as Lightfoot (Convict #3)
Cameos
- Shirley CaesarShirley CaesarShirley Ann Caesar is an American Gospel music singer, songwriter and recording artist whose career has spanned six decades...
as Herself - The Blind Boys of AlabamaThe Blind Boys of AlabamaThe Blind Boys of Alabama are a gospel group from Alabama that first formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind at Talladega, Alabama in 1939. The three main vocalists of the group and their drummer/percussionist are all blind....
as Themselves - Mary MaryMary MaryMary Mary is an American gospel music duo, consisting of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell and Tina Atkins-Campbell . The duo are often credited along with Kirk Franklin for broadening the fan base of urban contemporary gospel in the 2000s by introducing elements of soul music, hip hop, funk and jazz...
as Themselves - Ramiyah as Themselves
- Donnie McClurkinDonnie McClurkinDonald Andrew McClurkin, Jr. is an American gospel music singer and minister. He has won three Grammy awards, ten Stellar awards, two BET awards, two Soul Train awards, one Dove award and one NAACP Image award for his work....
as Judge of Gospel Explosion (Himself) - Yolanda AdamsYolanda AdamsYolanda Adams is an American Grammy- and Dove-award-winning Yolanda Adams is an American [[Grammy Awards|Grammy]]- and [[Dove Awards|Dove]]-award-winning...
as Judge of Gospel Explosion (Herself) - Daphne Duplaix as Tiffany, Darrin's girlfriend
Production
The film crew used several locations throughout Georgia. The final scene was filmed in Columbus, GA at the River Center for Performing Arts. Several of the extras were local residents of Columbus, GA.Reception
The music of the film received critical acclaim, most notably, Beyoncé's cover of "Fever".However, the film itself received generally mixed to negative reviews upon its release. The film was criticized for its weak and unoriginal plot and the poor chemistry between the film's lead actors (Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyoncé Knowles) as well as their noticeable age difference.
In addition, some audiences were dissatisfied with the significance Steve Harvey's role in the film. In the film's advertising, Harvey was depicted to have had a major role in the film but his role is actually minor with little screentime.
The movie was a moderate success, with a worldwide gross of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
32,445,215.
Despite the mixed reviews the film opened at #2. Notably, Ebert & Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
At the Movies was a movie review television program produced by Disney-ABC Domestic Television in which two film critics shared their opinions of newly released films. The program aired under various names...
reviewed the film and Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave it thumbs up, while Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
gave it thumbs down.
However, the cast themselves were very pleased with the film, citing its uplifting story and soundtrack. Gooding has confessed in several interviews following the film's release that he enjoyed filming his kissing scenes with Knowles. In a 2011 interview on The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...
, Gooding made a humorous reference to this by saying: (In the false words of the host) "Didn't he make love with Beyoncé on the set of something?".
Soundtrack
A soundtrack accompanied the film which was released a short while before the film was. The soundtrack received generally positive reviews and was more successful that the film itself. Only one song from the album, "Summertime", is not included in the movie. Also, late R&B legend Luther VandrossLuther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
also recorded a song for the film called "Shine
Shine (Luther Vandross song)
"Shine" is a single by soul legend Luther Vandross, the first single from his greatest hits package The Ultimate Luther Vandross."Shine" is an upbeat R&B track that samples Chic's disco classic "My Forbidden Lover"...
" but it failed to make the final cut of the film as well as the soundtrack. The most obvious reference to this is the fact that Vandross frequently says the title of the film in the song. The song "Come Back Home" appears in the film, but was not included in the soundtrack album.
- "Fighting TemptationFighting Temptation"Fighting Temptation" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles and American female rappers Missy Elliott, MC Lyte, and Free in 2003. The song was used to promote the film The Fighting Temptations , in which Knowles stars. It was composed by the Knowles, Missy Elliott, Lana Moorer,...
" — BeyoncéBeyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
(feat. Missy ElliottMissy ElliottMelissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
, MC LyteMC LyteMC Lyte is an American rapper who first gained fame in the late-1980s becoming the first solo female rapper to release a full album with 1988's critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock.-Early life:...
, and FreeFree (rapper)Antoinette Marie Wright, better known by her stage name, "Free" , is an American media personality, television producer and philanthropist. She rose to fame as the first host of BET's 106 & Park...
) - "I Know" — Destiny's ChildDestiny's ChildDestiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...
- "Rain Down" — Eddie LevertEddie LevertEdward "Eddie" Levert is an American singer, and is the lead vocalist of the soul/funk/R&B vocal group, The O'Jays.Levert was born in Bessemer, Alabama, but was raised in Canton, Ohio. While attending high school, he met buddies Walter Williams, Bill Isles, Bobby Massey, and William Powell...
and Angie StoneAngie StoneAngie Stone is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She has been nominated for three Grammy Award. She is more successful on the charts R&B charts, with four Top 10 albums, forms including a number one album and 10 singles on the R&B chart,... - "To da River" — T-BoneT-Bone (rapper)T-Bone is a Christian rapper. His father is Nicaraguan and his mother is Salvadoran. His name came from being called 'Bones' as a youngster because he was very skinny...
, Lil ZaneLil ZaneZane Copeland, Jr. , better known as Zane , is a rapper born in Yonkers, New York and raised in Atlanta, Georgia...
, and Montell JordanMontell JordanMontell Jordan is a former American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. Jordan became the main solo male artist on its Def Soul imprint until leaving the label in 2003. Of his live performances it is often regarded that he is a rock oriented musician, with Jordan even going as far as to... - "I'm Getting Ready" — Ann NesbyAnn NesbyAnn Nesby is an American R&B, gospel, and dance music singer and actress. She is the former lead singer of Sounds of Blackness; a songwriter with credits including hits sung by Patti Labelle and Gladys Knight; plus she co-starred in the 2003 romance musical The Fighting Temptations with Cuba...
- "The Stone" — Shirley CaesarShirley CaesarShirley Ann Caesar is an American Gospel music singer, songwriter and recording artist whose career has spanned six decades...
and Ann Nesby - "Heaven Knows" — Faith EvansFaith EvansFaith Renée Evans is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, record producer, actress and author. Born in Florida and raised in New Jersey, Evans relocated to Los Angeles during 1993 for a career with the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B...
- "FeverFever (1956 song)"Fever" is a song written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell, who used the pseudonym John Davenport. It was originally recorded by Little Willie John in 1956. It has been covered by numerous artists from various musical genres, notably Peggy Lee in 1958....
" — Beyoncé - "Everything I Do" — Beyoncé and Bilal
- "Loves Me Like a Rock" — The O'JaysThe O'JaysThe O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1963 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert , Walter Williams , William Powell , Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005...
- "Swing Low, Sweet ChariotSwing Low, Sweet Chariot"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is a historic African-American spiritual. The first recording was in 1909, by the Fisk Jubilee Singers of Fisk University....
" — Beyoncé - "He Still Loves Me" — Walter Williams Sr.The O'JaysThe O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1963 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert , Walter Williams , William Powell , Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005...
and Beyoncé - "Time to Come Home" — Beyoncé, Melba MooreMelba MooreBeatrice Melba Smith , known by her stage name, Melba Moore is an American disco, R&B singer and actress. She is the daughter of saxophonist Teddy Hill and R&B singer Bonnie Davis.-Early life:...
, and Angie Stone - "Don't Fight the Feeling" — SolangeSolange KnowlesSolange Piaget Knowles , who performs under the mononym Solange, is an American singer-songwriter, actress, model, dancer, and DJ. Knowles was born and raised in Houston, Texas along with her older sister singer Beyoncé, a former member of R&B group Destiny's Child...
and Papa Reu - "SummertimeSummertime (Beyoncé Knowles song)"Summertime" is a song by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles that features American rap artist P. Diddy. It was composed by Knowles, Angela Beyincé, Sean Combs, Steven "Steven J." Jordan, Adonis Shropshire, Varick "Smitty" Smith, and Mario Winans. The song was later remixed with rapper Ghostface...
" — Beyoncé (feat. P. DiddySean CombsSean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...
) (Note: This is the only song that does not appear in the film) - "ShineShine (Luther Vandross song)"Shine" is a single by soul legend Luther Vandross, the first single from his greatest hits package The Ultimate Luther Vandross."Shine" is an upbeat R&B track that samples Chic's disco classic "My Forbidden Lover"...
" — Luther VandrossLuther VandrossLuther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
(Note: This song was written and recorded for the film but failed to make the final cut)
Home media
The film was released on VHS and DVD on February 3, 2004.In 2008, the film was reissued with new cover art. However, the disc art is the same as the original release.
It has yet to be released on Blu-Ray.
Possible sequel
In a 2003 interview with Mickey JonesMickey Jones
Mickey Jones is an American musician and actor.-Early life:Jones was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Frances Marie and Fred Edward Jones...
, (who had a supporting role in the film), for HollywoodJesus.com, he stated that he hoped the film performed well because all of the principal actors had signed on for a sequel. But as of 2011, nothing has been announced about a sequel. More than likely, a sequel will not be made due to the film barely making its budget during its theatrical run and the mixed reviews the film received.
Broadcast history
The film made its debut on television on Showtime in 2005 almost two years after the film's release. The film has aired on BETBet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
, VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
and it frequently airs on TBS
TBS (TV channel)
TBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
commonly during early morning hours or late night hours.
Awards and nominations
| Ceremony | Recipient | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| BET Comedy Awards | Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child... |
Outstanding Actress in a Box-Office Movie | |
| Mike Epps Mike Epps Michael Elliot "Mike" Epps is an American stand-up comedian, actor, film producer, writer, singer, and rapper. He is best known for playing Day-Day Jones in Next Friday and the sequel-to-the-sequel, Friday After Next, and also starring alongside Ice Cube in All About the Benjamins... |
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Box-Office Movie | ||
| Black Reel Awards Black Reel Awards The Black Reel Awards began in 2000 and were designed to annually recognize and celebrate the achievements of black people in feature, independent and television films... |
Cuba Gooding Jr. | Best Actor | |
| Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child... |
Best Actress | ||
| Elizabeth Hunter Saladin K. Patterson |
Best Screenplay Original or Adapted | ||
| Best Film | |||
| Best Film Soundtrack | |||
| "He Still Loves Me" | Best Film Song | ||
| Golden Raspberry Awards Golden Raspberry Awards A Golden Raspberry Award, or Razzie for short, is an award presented in recognition of the worst in movies. Founded by American copywriter and publicist John J.B. Wilson in 1981, the annual Razzie Awards ceremony in Los Angeles precedes the corresponding Academy Awards ceremony by one day... |
Cuba Gooding Jr. | Worst Actor | |
| Image Awards | Outstanding Motion Picture | ||
| Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child... |
Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture | ||