''The Fighting Temptations'' is a 2003 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Jonathan Lynn Jonathan Lynn (born 3 April 1943) is an English stage and film director, producer, writer, and actor. He is known for directing the comedy films such as '' Clue'', '' Nuns on the Run'', ''My Cousin Vinny'', and '' The Whole Nine Yards''. He als ...

, written by Elizabeth Hunter and Saladin K. Patterson, and distributed by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

and

MTV Films MTV Entertainment Studios is the film and television production arm of MTV Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Founded in 1991 as MTV Productions, it is a consolidation of the former MTV ...

. The main plot revolves around Darrin Hill (

Cuba Gooding Jr. Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Emmy nomination. After his breakthrough role as Tre Styles in ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), he appear ...

) who travels to his hometown of Monte Carlo, Georgia as he attempts to revive a church choir in order to enter a gospel competition with the help of a beautiful lounge singer and childhood friend, Lilly (

Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

), with whom he falls in love. Through the choir's music, Darrin brings the church community back together all the while seeking a relationship with Lilly. The film is notable for its soundtrack and

ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * Ensemble (album), ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the ...

cast. The film received mixed reviews upon release.

Plot

In 1980, a young boy named Darrin Hill (

) and his mother, MaryAnn (

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al ...

), are run out of town after MaryAnn was soon discovered to be a singing secular music when she also sings in a church choir. Aunt Sally (

Ann Nesby Ann Nesby (born Lula Ann Bennett; July 24, 1955) 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 Knigh ...

) attempts to defend MaryAnn, but it fails. The church's cowardly pastor, Reverend Lewis (

Wendell Pierce Wendell Edward Pierce (born December 8, 1963) is an American actor and businessman. Having trained at Juilliard School, Pierce rose to prominence as a character actor portraying roles both on the stage and screen. He first gained notoriety portra ...

), 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 with each other. In 2003, Darrin has grown up to become a successful advertising executive in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with a bad habit of lying. Darrin's only true friend and secretary, Rosa Lopez (

Lourdes Benedicto Lourdes Benedicto (born November 12, 1974) is an American actress of Filipino and Dominican descent. She is known for her roles on the television series '' 24'' as Carrie Turner, as Eva Rios on '' The Nine'', and for her role as Alicia Lawson ...

), does a good job at keeping his credit problems under control. However, Darrin has achieved so much under

false pretenses In criminal law, property is obtained by false pretenses when the acquisition results from the intentional misrepresentation of a past or existing fact. Elements The elements of false pretenses are: *a false representation *of a material pa ...

and faked his college degree and high school diploma. Darrin also lied about being the son of a congressman, and his lies soon catch up with him and get him in trouble with his paranoid boss (

Dakin Matthews Melvin Richard "Dakin" Matthews (born November 7, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and theatrical scholar. Best known as Herb Kelcher in ''My Two Dads'' (1987–1989), Hanlin Charleston in ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007) ...

) and Darrin loses his job. After being tracked down by a private investigator, Darrin soon finds out that Aunt Sally has died. Darrin returns to his hometown of Monte Carlo, Georgia and looks back on both comical and heartbreaking memories of MaryAnn and the experiences they had together. When Darrin arrives, he finds a new friendship in Lucious (

Mike Epps Michael Elliot Epps (born November 18, 1970) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He played Day-Day Jones in ''Next Friday'' and its sequel, ''Friday After Next'', and also appeared in ''The Hangover'' and ''The Hangover Part III'' as "Bla ...

), the town's happy-go-lucky cab driver. Lucious is obsessed with women's booties and even proclaims himself a "Booty expert" and "Bootyologist". At Aunt Sally's funeral, Shirley Caesar makes a cameo appearance as a character who was an old friend of Sally and sings at the funeral. After the funeral, Darrin soon learns from the Reverend that Aunt Sally had 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 Aunt Sally's stock in the company that produces the show which is currently worth $150,000. Later, Paulina reveals that Darrin forgot to enter the choir into the auditions. Luckily, the audition judge, Luther Washington (

Faizon Love Faizon Andre Love (born Langston Faizon Santisima; June 14, 1968) is a Cuban-born American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles in the comedy films '' The Meteor Man'', ''Don't Be a Menace'', ''Friday'', '' B*A*P*S'', '' Elf'', '' ...

), who is also the town's prison warden, lets them perform in a show for his prisoners when the booked act fails to arrive. Thanks to Lilly's beautiful looks and voice, the choir performs well and Washington lets them into the competition. Washington also lets Darrin use three convicts who can sing well. The three convicts are Bee-Z Briggs, Lightfoot, and Mr. Johnson (

T-Bone The T-bone and porterhouse are steaks of beef cut from the short loin (called the sirloin in Commonwealth countries and Ireland). Both steaks include a "T"-shaped lumbar vertebra with sections of abdominal internal oblique muscle on each side ...

, Chris Cole, and

Montell Jordan Montell Du'Sean Barnett Jordan (born December 3, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Best known for his 1995 single "This Is How We Do It", Jordan was the primary male solo artist on Def Jam's Def Soul imprint until le ...

). After weeks of success, the choir has become more popular, more people have joined the church and the choir. Darrin also begins dating Lilly. However, Paulina takes a message for Darrin in 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 furious and heartbroken about this and the people who he promised money to begin to panic, and tells Darrin that she doesn't care what he does, she was only using him because he was using her. Since Lilly wants nothing to do with him, Darrin decides to quit and returns to New York, where he has been offered his job back. However, Darrin goes back and gets a new condo and a promotion, and comes to realize that none of these things mean anything without Lilly and the choir. Darrin quits his job and returns to Monte Carlo to reconcile with Lilly. Darrin and Lilly recruits Lucious and the Reverend and all of them rush down to the Gospel Explosion to join the choir for the performance. When Darrin and Lilly arrive, they manage to convince the others to vote Paulina out of the choir, giving Darrin his position as director back. 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 ending his acceptance speech, Darrin surprises Lilly with an unexpected marriage proposal, to which she accepts. Eighteen months later, the two are shown to be happily married with a baby of their own.

Cast

as Darrin Hill ** Nigel Washington as young Darrin Hill *

as Lilly **

Chloe Bailey Chloe Elizabeth Bailey (born July 1, 1998), also known by her mononymous stage name Chlöe, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is best known for being one half of the musical duo Chloe x Halle with her sister Halle Bailey. Tog ...

as young Lilly *

as Lucious *

LaTanya Richardson LaTanya Richardson Jackson ( Richardson; born October 21, 1949) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in off-Broadway productions, before playing supporting roles on television and film. Richardson has appeared in films includi ...

as Paulina Lewis-Pritchett * Eddie LeVert Sr. as Joseph *

Melba Moore Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith (sources differ) (born October 29, 1945), known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress. Biography Early life and education Moore was born Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba ...

as Bessie Cooley *

as Reverend Paul Lewis *

Lou Myers Lou Myers (1915 – November 20, 2005) 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''. His work has also appeared in ''The New York Times'', '' ...

as Homer T. *

Rue McClanahan Eddi-Rue McClanahan (February 21, 1934 – June 3, 2010) was an American actress and comedian best known for her roles on television as Vivian Harmon on '' Maude'' (1972–78), Aunt Fran Crowley on ''Mama's Family'' (1983–84), and Blanche De ...

as Nancy Stringer *

Angie Stone Angela Laverne Brown (born December 18, 1961) known professionally as Angie Stone, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as member of the hip hop trio The Sequence. In the early 1990s ...

as Alma * Mitchah Williams as Jimmy B. * Walter Williams Sr. as Frank * Rosalie Washington as Faye Jenkins *

Mickey Jones Mickey Jones (June 10, 1941 – February 7, 2018) was an American musician and actor. He played drums with acts such as Trini Lopez and Bob Dylan, with whom he played on his 1966 world tour. He became a founding member of The First Edition ...

as Scooter * James E. Gaines as Lilly's Grandfather * Dave Sheridan as Bill the Mechanic * Eric Nolan Grant as Samuel * Zane Copeland Jr. as Derek *

as Mr. Johnson (Convict #1) * Darrell Vanterpool as Dean *

as Bee-Z Biggs (Convict #2) * Chris Cole as Lightfoot (Convict #3) * Mae Middleton as Tasha *

as MaryAnn Hill *

Steve Harvey Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American television host, producer, actor, and comedian. He hosts ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', ''Family Feud'', '' Celebrity Family Feud,'' the Miss U ...

as Miles Smoke (Local Radio DJ) *

as Sally Walker *

as Mr. Fairchild *

as Rosa Lopez *

as Luther Washington (Prison Warden) * Wilbur Fitzgerald as L&G Representative

Cameos

* Reverend Shirley Caesar as Herself *

The Blind Boys of Alabama The Blind Boys of Alabama, also billed as The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, and Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama, is an American Gospel music, gospel group. The group was founded in 1939 in Talladega, Alabama, and has featured a ch ...

as Themselves * Mary Mary as Themselves *

Ramiyah The four members of gospel group Ramiyah consisted of Stephanie Bonner, Tracy Bryant, DeLaurian Burton, and Sherise Staten. The girls were raised in Detroit, MI, and were brought together by the PAJAM production team. They have appeared on: The St ...

as Themselves *

Donnie McClurkin Donald Andrew "Donnie" McClurkin, Jr. (born November 9, 1959) is an American gospel 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 Awards. ...

as Judge of Gospel Explosion (Himself) *

Yolanda Adams Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albums ...

as Judge of Gospel Explosion (Herself) *

Daphne Duplaix Daphne (; ; el, Δάφνη, , ), a minor figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in wh ...

as Tiffany, Darrin's girlfriend

Production

The film crew used several locations throughout Georgia. The final scene was filmed in Columbus, GA at the

RiverCenter for the Performing Arts The RiverCenter for the Performing Arts is a modern performance space in Downtown Columbus, Georgia, United States. Introduction The center first opened in 2002 with the completion of Studio Theatre, a flexible black-box style experimental theatre ...

. 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 reviews upon its release. The film was criticized for its screenplay, rehashed premise and lack of chemistry between actors Gooding and Knowles. The film, nevertheless, opened at #2. Notably, Ebert & Roeper reviewed the film and

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave it thumbs up. It holds a 42% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 111 reviews, with an average rating of 5.32/10. The site's critical consensus states, "The music is the only saving grace in this predictable and eager-to-please comedy." The movie grossed only

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

32,445,215 worldwide and thus failed to turn a profit thus canceling any plans for a second installment to go into production (though the primary actors had signed on for one).

Soundtrack

A soundtrack accompanied the film and was released by Music World/ Columbia on Sony Music on September 9, 2003. The soundtrack received generally positive reviews and proved to be more successful than the film itself. Only one song from the album, "Summertime", is not included in the movie. The song "Come Back Home" appears in the film, but was not included on the soundtrack album. It also noted that several other songs performed during the movie including "Church Is in Mourning (Aunt Sally's Funeral Tribute)" by Shirley Caesar, "Won't Ever Change" by Mary Mary, "Waiting" by

, and "Soldier" by

, were also not included on the soundtrack.Mathew Knowles, Executive Producer. # "

Fighting Temptation "Fighting Temptation" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé and American rappers Missy Elliott, MC Lyte, and Free for the film ''The Fighting Temptations'' (2003), starring Beyoncé. It was written by Beyoncé, Elliott, Lana Moorer, Ma ...

" —

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

, Missy Elliott,

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper, DJ, actress and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first ...

and Free :51# "I Know" — Destiny's Child :43# "Rain Down" —

Eddie Levert Edward Willis Levert (born June 16, 1942) is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist of The O'Jays. He is the father of Gerald Levert (1966–2006) and Sean Levert (1968–2008) Biography Levert was born in Bessemer, Alabama, but ...

and

:27# "To Da River" —

Lil Zane Zane Copeland, Jr. (born July 11, 1982), better known as Lil' Zane or simply Zane, is an American rapper. He is perhaps best known for his single " Callin' Me" (featuring 112) from his debut studio album '' Young World: The Future'' (2000). E ...

, and

:13# "I'm Getting Ready" —

:15# "The Stone" — Shirley Caesar and Ann Nesby :53# " Heaven Knows" —

:43# "

Fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

" — Beyoncé :32# "Everything I Do" — Beyoncé and

Bilal __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name) (a list of people with the name) * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places *Bilal Colony, a neighbourhood of Korangi Town in Karachi, ...

:22# "

Loves Me Like A Rock "Loves Me Like a Rock" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the second single from his third studio album, ''There Goes Rhymin' Simon'' (1973), released on Columbia Records. It features background vocals from the Dixie ...

" —

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor ...

:26# " Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" — Beyoncé :05# "He Still Loves Me" — Walter Williams Sr. and Beyoncé :22# "Time To Come Home" — Beyoncé,

, and Angie Stone :52# "Don't Fight The Feeling" —

Solange Solange (died 10 May, c. 880) was a Frankish shepherdess and a locally venerated Christian saint and cephalophore, whose cult is restricted to Sainte-Solange, Cher. Saint Solange was the patron of the traditional Province of Berry, of which C ...

and Papa Reu :07# " Summertime" — Beyoncé (feat.

P. Diddy Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

) :54/small> Total Length: 54:45

Certifications

Cancelled sequel

In a 2003 interview with the late

(who had a supporting role in the film), for now defunct HollywoodJesus.com, he stated that he hoped the film performed well because all of the principal actors had signed on for a sequel.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fighting Temptations, The 2003 films 2000s musical comedy films 2003 romantic comedy films 2000s romantic musical films African-American musical comedy films African-American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films Films directed by Jonathan Lynn Films set in Georgia (U.S. state) Films set in New York City Films shot in Atlanta Films shot in New York City Gospel music media MTV Films films Paramount Pictures films Religious comedy films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films