Review: Why Do Fools Fall In Love
Starring: Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox, Lela Rochon
Larenz Tate, Little Richard
Directed by: Gregory Nava
Review by: Joy Wyse
It's interesting that the credits of Why Do Fools Fall In Love show that it was written by Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy, because that's what the movie is all about. Following Frankie Lymon's death, the song once again becomes a hit and each of Frankie's three widows decide to see Morris Levy for the widow's share of the royalties.
They go to court where the story unfolds as each one states her case for Judge Lambrey, played perfectly by Pamela Reed. Just as you are really getting into Zola's story [Halle Berry], you are interrupted by Elizabeth [Vivica A. Fox]. At first, you resent her, but then, you start seeing her side of the story. The same goes for Emira [Lela Rochon]. It seems that Frankie was a different person with each wife. Who was Frankie, really? It is interesting to see his biography unfold. It points out the racial barriers that minorities encountered. In those days their audiences were totally Caucasian. It is probably a concept that today's teens can't comprehend.
Some of the best moments in the film include Little Richard. He is hysterical when testifying in court and he makes some very valid statements on the treatment of performers by producers. In flashback scenes the young Little Richard [Miguel A. Nunez, Jr.] is a perfect replica.
The music that is featured will get to everyone. From Tutti-Fruitti to California Dreamin. Even if the movie weren't as great as it is, you'd get your money's worth from the soundtrack alone.
It is definitely one of the better pictures of the year. Everything about it is good: plot, direction, script, acting, score, costumes, sets, etc. The different sets of Zola's house overlooking Los Angeles will stay in your mind.
I won't tell you how the judge rules, but I will add that I wondered about Herman Santiago. He is the one who originally wrote the title song with Frankie. His name was on the original record. In searching the Internet, I found that he, and another of the performers, did file suit. However, their claim was denied because they waited too long, after turning 21, to file their claim. It doesn't seem fair.
I definitely want to see this again, if not in a theater, I'll probably buy the video. It gets an A- in my books.
SEE YOU AT THE MOVIES.
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews