Its tough to pinpoint exactly where and when Cuba Gooding Jr. became so astonishingly rubbish. Some might say Boat Trip, others Snow Dogs. Im more of a Rat Race man myself, but each to their own.
What saves his latest attempt from matching those afore-mentioned flicks in the turkey stakes is a fantastic up-tempo Gospel soundtrack, nudged along on its way by the presence of guaranteed seat-filler Beyonce Knowles. In fact, were it not for those two crucial ingredients, its fair to say The Fighting Temptations would be one of the worst films of the year.
The film sees Gooding transfer his irritating googly-eyed jumpiness to the part of Darrin Hill. Hes a truth-bending NY advertising exec who returns to his backward Alabama hometown to attend the funeral of a deceased rellie, only to find hes been left $150,000-worth of stock in the will. The catch is, he wont be shown the money unless he agrees to lead the local church choir to the customary end-of-movie competition. So he does.
Its a good job the music is so enjoyable, because otherwise this poorly-written comedys two-hour running time would be practically unbearable. Laughs are few and far between, and the dialogue between the lead players is about as stale as it gets. The fact that Gooding is so completely outshone by Beyonce, hardly the most gifted actress of her time, just goes to show how far hes fallen since his deserved Oscar victory for Jerry Maguire back in 1996.
The bootylicious one, meanwhile, never looks uncomfortable in her fairly limited role as the single mother shunned by the church for her ungodly ways. Of course, shes in the movie largely for her singing talents, and its an area in which she never disappoints. And shes certainly easier on the eye than her perma-staring co-star.