Release Date: March 29, 2013
Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor. The title says it all, right? Drama. Lust. Passion. Romance. Anticipation, and so much more. Well, I’d be lying if I said this movie were all these things. But first, let me stop you if you think this movie or review is about Kim Kardashian, because you’d be wrong. But don’t get me wrong, Kim was good in the part that she was given. Her role in the movie was to portray a fashion-forward assistant to a prestigious matchmaker. The role was small in comparison to the scheme of the movie, but I don’t think it was a challenge for her. Her character was fashionable with an attitude, which is an everyday character for her. But more about the actual movie…
The trailer for Temptation advertised for a movie full of drama, and an “oh so” appealing affair between the two stars of the movie, Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Robbie Jones. It was daring and drew the viewer in with every second. From the first time I saw that trailer, I was tempted to see Temptation. From those who are familiar with Tyler Perry’s work (if not, I suggest you watch his previous movies and/or plays), I thought this was going to be his best piece of work yet. I was so confident in this movie that I went to see it the night it premiered.
The movie intertwines three different storylines: the steady, but not romantic marriage of Judith and Brice (played by Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Lance Gross), the blossoming, tempting affair of Judith and Harley (played by Robbie Jones), and the untold story of Melinda (played by Brandy Norwood) and how they are all connected.
To be honest, I felt as though Temptation was more of a comedy than a drama, which was its intended genre. I think it came off that way because of the way in which Tyler Perry presented the story. My friends and I, as well as several others in the theatre found humor in moments that would not usually be intended for humor. Those moments are what made the movie entertaining. But an entertaining movie does not equate to a good movie. The storylines of the characters took too long to develop in the time length of the movie that towards the end, the story felt rushed. Also, another major dislike was the lack of passion, romance, and for lack of better words, temptation between Judith and Brice in the affair. It was mostly portrayed as an abusive, drug-oriented, unhealthy relationship, which was deceiving in terms of the trailer.
Personally, I like the fact that Tyler Perry incorporates religion into his films in some way, but in this particular one, I felt as though it was forced. The religion aspect of this move was very random. Also, as an “adopted” DC native, I feel as though I can now critique DC. For a movie that was supposed to be set in DC, I felt it was not a very good portrayal. Clearly, for myself and others in the audience, we could tell that backdrops were just added to look like areas such as Georgetown, and surrounding the capital building. As a Howard University graduate, Lance Gross should have provided his expertise of DC. Overall, this movie lacked depth and creative development; it was purely surface level. For a topic that can be spun so many different ways, it was luke-warm and lack-luster.
If I had to assign a grade to this movie, I’d give it a C-. It did not live up to expectations, but it wasn’t completely bad. It had great actors that I was familiar with from other works, but a not-so-developed storyline. Entertaining, but lacking intrigue.