The
Fighting Temptations is about a Gospel music
group, and the name simply means that good Christians must
fight the
temptations of life. Thus, the film is not about a music
group known as The Temptations, though some might even
say that The Fighting Temptations is
better than The Temptations. Indeed, audiences will move
their heads and bodies and
even clap their hands during the film. The plot is somewhat
uncomplicated, however. One day, the Sunday service at
the Beulah Baptist Church of Montecarlo, Georgia, is in
progress.
Preteen Darrin Hill (played by Nigel Washington) sits outside
with Lilly (played by Wanda William), an attractive girl
of about the same age; Darrin declares that someday he
would like to marry Lilly, but she prefers Michael Jackson
as her future spouse. After the two are dragged into the
service, they witness a spirited performance by the church
choir. Afterward, as parishioners leave the church, nasty
Paulina Pritchett (played by LaTanya Richardson) demands
that Mary Ann (played by Faith Evans), the niece of Sally Walker (played by Ann Nesby) be booted from
the position of choir leader because she works in a sinful
nightclub, contrary to the church's by-laws. Rev. Lewis
(played by Wendell Pierce) is then forced to tell Sally
to choose between choir membership and her line of work,
and Sally responds by casting off her choir robe. Soon,
she gets on a bus with the only member of her family, her
nephew Darrin, to move to Chicago. Sally goes on to a successful
musical career, whereas Darrin becomes a card shark and
a con man at an early age. Fifteen years after leaving
Montecarlo, Darrin (now played by Cuba Gooding, Jr.) is
a junior executive at an advertising agency; when he presents
his idea that a malt liquor division of a beer company
will attract African American customers in droves, the
beer company executive suggests that Darrin should play
a more central role in the agency, so his boss promotes
him to an executive position. However, Darrin is soon fired
because he lied on his job application that he went to
Andover and graduated from Yale. Darrin also has run up
so many credit card debts that he is hounded by collection
agents. After Darrin is fired, he exits from the building
only to be presented with a summons. The paper insists
that he must return to Montecarlo for the funeral of Aunt
Sally, who has remembered him in her will; when the will
is read, there is a catch to gain a monetary windfall,
namely, that he must take her role as onetime director
of the Beulah
Baptist Church choir to the annual national competition
of Gospel music groups in Columbus, Georgia. There is never
any doubt that Darrin will do so, but how? He knows nothing
about music. Most of the delightful humor and music in
the film emerges as he recruits singers to the choir, which
when he arrives consists of seven members who cannot carry
a tune. Among those he prevails upon to join the choir
are a grown-up Lilly (now played by Beyoncé Knowles)
and three members of the local prison. Just as the choir
is ready to compete, Paulina exposes Darrin's sordid past
as well as the fact that the beer executive relents and
begs him to return to the advertising agency, so Darrin
leaves in disgrace, and the new choir leader is the hated
Paulina, who will surely lead the choir to defeat. But
of course there will be a happy ending, not unlike Sweet
Home Alabama (2002). Directed by Political
Film Society awardwinner Jonathan Lynn, The
Fighting Temptations is
guaranteed to wow all sorts of audiences, bringing attention
to Gospel music in the same manner that The
Sting (1973)
fêted ragtime and O
Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
brought world attention to bluegrass music. But The Fighting
Temptations presents a wider range of musical genres, including
rap, R&B, and soul, thus celebrating the lively and
rich heritage of music by African Americans. MH
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