1/5 scratched up
  by M. long
i ordered a dvd "why do fools fall in love" from co. called "moviemars". the dvd took forever to arrive and it arrived all scratched up and broken totally in half.someone had went so far as to put scotch tape on it to put it back together and sent it to me. i sent it back(using my own postage). still havent received the replacement yet.

3/5 superficial sizzle
  by J. W. Hickey (Manhattan area)
Musical bio-pics about this period seldom interest me. However, components of this movie are very appealing. Little Richard is fun, Alexis Cruz does very well, and the four leads are good.

Of particular personal interest is some of the film direction. One shot in particular kept me watcing the rest of the picture: an apparently single shot that starts outside a theater, follows excited teens inside, and swirls around the stage for TWO musical numbers. With all the CGI tricks available these days, this is probably not just one take. (At the very least, a sudden interest in the ceiling of the theater may serve as the backs of actors did in Hitchcock's ROPE as a way to hide the splicing of at least two extended shots.) But the effect on the viewer is breathtaking, as a feat of high energy the mounts uninterrupted by the sort of tiresome strobe editing that defuses participation in most 21st century movie musicals.

The film's problem lies in the script. Lots of bio detail is crammed into the story, but as often as not the scenes are tabloid shallow and fraught with scenery chewing that even actors of this quality cannot salvage. These melodrama-scorched patches reduce potentially genuine moments in Frankie's life to ... well ... simplistic song lyrics.

3/5 I love Gregory Nava....this film left a lot to be desired......
  by D. Pawl (Seattle)
One of my favorite contemporary directors, today, is the great filmmaker, Gregory Nava. Nava is known best for the powerful EL NORTE, MI FAMILIA (MY FAMILY) and SELENA. He has great ability to combine warm humor with high drama, and [oftentimes] succeeds in shaping very compelling characters in the great stories he tells. Unfortunately, I don't feel that this really took place in WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE.

Frankie Lymon (Larenz Tate) was a legend, during his heyday. At thirteen years old, he was the lead singer of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. He also co-wrote the hit "Why Do Fools Fall In Love." This catapulted him into stardom, during the height of the do-wop era, in the United States. Not only was a trailblazer, due to his young age, but The Teenagers were a multiracial group, at a time where that was pretty progressive (the mid-1950s). Two of his band members were Puerto Rican, and Lymon and the other Teenagers were African-American. Success seemed synonymous with the name Frankie Lymon, but, as they say, "everyone will get their fifteen minutes of fame." Frankie's success took a u-turn, once his voice changed, and he began his descent into heroin addiction. In between his highs (and catastrophic lows--including the turbulent break-up between Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers), that left time and room for him in his schedule to get married to three women--at the same time! Of course, it wasn't nearly as straightforward as that. Botched court papers, troubles with addiction and unfinalized divorces led to this predicament. In the 1980s, the three women met face to face, and went on to take each other on in court, to determine who was to inherit Lymon's $4 million fortune. This co-stars Halle Berry, Lela Rochon and Vivica A. Fox, as the wives in question.

I found myself shaking my head in disappointment, thinking, "Ay, Gregory Nava, what were you thinking?" Okay, for starters, "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" is a great song. I won't argue with that. However, the song is almost constantly playing as the background soundtrack for this dramedy. I'm not exaggerating. It's great the first few times, but once you've heard it about ten times, you begin to wonder who was editing the film (or if editing even occurred). The other songs from the era are really great, classic tunes. They are undeniably catchy, but there are times where they feel more than a little manipulative. It's almost as though the director was relying on the music as a crutch for the film, so we'd forget the [slightly] melodramatic camera angles, uproarious emotional outbursts and shots of Lymon coming down or riding the high of his heroin use. Larenz Tate lipsynchs as well he can, and I do feel that he did a believeable job, playing Lymon here. However, Halle Berry (as Zola Taylor, female singer for The Platters), Vivica A. Fox (as Elizabeth Waters, a perpetual shoplifter) and Lela Rochon (as Elmira Eagle) felt more like caricatures to me than anything else. We have our diva, bad girl and church-going good girl. Three very different women for the three very different faces of the manipulative lothario, Frankie Lymon. And, he managed to fool all of them, equally. I realize that it's hard to portray the events of this story without it coming off as much more than an exploitative tabloid, due to the subject matter. Lymon tragically died of a heroin overdose at age twenty-five, just when he was contemplating getting his singing career together, after a long draught. It was very sad and unfortunate, and he was undeniably talented. What's more, the effect of his narcissism and addiction problems left tracks marks on many of his relationships. This wasn't a tribute, but more of an excuse to air the dirty laundry of someone too sick (and dead too many years), and it shows.

1/5 Why did I waste my time watching this movie?
  by SHAWN JAMES (Bronx, NY)
I couldn't bring myself to like Why Do Fools Fall in love. But I could bring myself to loathe it with tremendous contempt. A shallow biopic with no style or substance, it barely skims the surface of the Frankie Lymon's life story or gives us any idea of what a rocky road the musician had in his short lifetime. Only a fool could love this mess of a movie.

Why Do Fools Fall in love supposedly details the civil trial three of Mr. Lymons wives have over the royalties for his fortune. That's right wives. It seems the late Frankie Lymon married three different women in between touring and drugging and years later everyone has to go to court to sort it out. As the court case goes on we are dragged through three shallow stories told from the perspectives of the wives: A petty thief and round the way girl, Zola, A singer from the group the platters, and a Georgia schoolteacher.

Each tries to convince us they are the real Mrs. Lymon and why they should get the$4 million in back royalties. Each gives a woe-is-me tale of how they were conned by Frankie Lymon who is what-a musician! In between marriages he earns their trust, hustles them for drug money, rips them off and leaves them with nothing. (Poor ladies, no one ever told them Musicians are ALWAYS womanizing drug abusing cads!) Now they're looking for payback from the record company. I won't give away who is the real Mrs. Lymon is this movie is JUST TOO AWFUL TO SPOIL.

Why Do Fools Fall in Love? The real question I had to ask after watching this movie is: Why did I waste my time watching this ridiculous movie? Bird this isn't. Ray this will NEVER be. Heck this isn't near the quality of the Temptations Mini-series or even The Five Heartbeats. This movie is an insult to Frankie Lymon and his fans. This movie is an insult to anyone's intelligence. The only message of this movie is: Sistas should never trust a junkie. Especially if he's a one-hit wonder who isn't smart enough to manage his own finances.

Why Do Fools Fall in Love falls apart due to its poor production values, inept direction and terrible script. The director has no idea how to shoot this film. He uses many of the wrong shots to shoot his story. For the concert scenes The Camera is on stage with the performers and that takes away from the emotional impact of the story. This is to cover Larenz Tates body doubles dance moves, but the camera needs to be in the audience watching along with the crowd so we can experience what they experience. He takes no time to create tension in his shots, and uses wide shots during scenes when close ups would have built up the story.

The poorly written screenplay doesn't dig deep enough into Lymon's story or the characters personalities. I barely got to know Frankie Lymon or his impact on the music scene in the 50's and 60s. I never learned why he got close to these women or if he ever cared for any of them. I didn't even learn why he became a drug addict or why he got involved with all these women. Was it the fame? Was it the drugs? Was it because he was just a creep? Hard to tell because this movie it tries to cram all these stories into a 90 minute time frame and hope for the best.

Production values are ridiculous. Why do Fools Fall in love doesn't feel like a feature film, it feels like a made for-TV movie or a made-for-video piece. We don't get a sense of the time of the 50's 60's or the 80's when the court case is takes place. Everyone wears clothing of the time, but we never get a sense of these eras in history from the sets. It's clear the producers took no time to research the history of the time period or the story of this man's life.

Larenz Tate struggles in the role of Frankie Lymon. His performance borders on Hairspray campy. Viveca A.Fox is great as Lymon's first wife. She channels the chicken head within. Halle Berry Struggles in the role of Zola. I couldn't believe she was a singer. In some scenes she's on and others she's off. I can't blame her this time; the erratic script here doesn't give her much to work with. Lela Rochon also struggles as Lymon's third wife; but that's due to the script, which gives her oh about two minutes to tell her character's story. Miguel A. Nunez Jr. Is NOT little Richard. All I have to say. Little Richard is Little Richard though.

Don't be a fool. Avoid this movie. If you want a great biopic about Motown musicians get Ray, The Temptations Mini-Series, or Clint Eastwood's Bird. Or if you want a fictional story about Motown music get The Five Heartbeats.


4/5 Very funny, yet sad at the same time.
  by L. Wilson (North Carolina)
It was fun to see him happy when he was on his rise, but so sad to see him fall. A great acting job by Larenze Tate. Vivica is beautiful.