Since the previews first made their way to television, people have all been amped and making plans to see it. “Temptation: Confessions of a marriage counselor” is the latest visual installment added to the Tyler Perry saga. This film is unlike the Madea movies that catapulted Perry straight to the top of the game. I finally got the chance to view the film that I have been reading and hearing such mixed reviews on. Here’s my two cents.
In this twisted tale of betrayal and marriage, Judith (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) is a young woman who has been sheltered and has pretty much lived a straight laced life. She is college educated, has a stable job, and married to her childhood sweetheart. Her Husband Brice (Lance Gross) is a pharmacist that aspires to open his own pharmacy one day. The two have been married for 6 years. One day, things change when Judith is introduced to her new client at work, Harley (Robbie Jones). A mutual attraction between the two is established on day one of them meeting. With Judith being the strong christian woman that she is, she fights off all of Harley’s advances until… She begins having slight marital issues. Instead of talking it out with her husband, she finally feeds into the things that her friend/co-worker Eva (Kim Kardashian) and Harley are telling her. She allowed that dry moment in her marriage to stale. With temptation and the wrong encouragement, she decides to take that walk on the wild side. It is a stroll that ends up costing her everything.
The concept for this movie is a good one. I understand a appreciate what Tyler Perry is trying to do in his movies. Ultimately, he is trying to encourage people to find God if you do not know who that is and hold on to your faith. Plain and simple, like the movie: Don’t let yourself get swallowed up into temptation. We are all surrounded by all kinds of Temptations and vices everyday. It is up to us to decide how we will handle it at the end of the day. Do we submit or fight?
Kim Kardashian actually did surprisingly well. She played a character that was believable for her. Her Character was a fashion-forward, label dropping mamacita that was obsessed with style and glamor. She wasn’t all over the place in this movie. She was likable and made me laugh. I also appreciate the fact that Perry took the time to explore marriage again. Marriage is a dying institution that isn’t valued as it should be. When you take that oath, there is no “out”, point blank. Today, if you don’t want to be married, you can fix it by getting a divorce. Broken marriages produces broken families which ultimately produce broken communities. Film is Perry’s way of trying to get us to understand the issues and begin healing. That’s respectable.
On thing that I did like about the movie is that it didn’t have a cheesy ending like most of his films. A lot of Tyler perry productions normally have a happy ending. This film, not so much. For him that is major and I personally appreciate that. For me, that shows growth. It was more realistic. However, i’m not sure of the message that he was giving out. A lot of critics blasted the film due to its ending. After getting hooked on drugs and losing herself in this fling, Judith contracts the HIV virus from Harley. She ultimately loses her husband as well. People cheat and sometimes the ramifications of that can be life altering.
What about the Tyler Perry fans who are HIV+? It’s easy to say that Perry made it seem as if he was demonizing this disease and making it seem as if Judith deserved catching it. He nearly gave off the impression that being HIV positive was the worse result in the world. News like that is devastating but it is not the same death wish that it once was in the 80’s and 90’s. Treatment has come a long way. What about the people out there who are HIV+ that are victims. There are innocent people who have been raped and born with this disease. Having a positive status doesn’t necessarily make you’re a bad person. A lot of critics are panning the film because of that.
I personally give this movie a 7.5 out of 10. I say that because, the movie seemed to be a mixture of other Tyler Perry movies that I have seen before. I saw bits of: “A Family that Preys”, “Why do we get Married”, and “For Colored Girls” in this film. The “streets” are also saying that the movie was slightly predictable. I personally disagree with that. The only other negative thing that I can say is that it took a little longer than my personal liking to get to the climax of the movie. However, when Perry got us there, HE GOT US THERE. You either cried or blinked extremely hard and fast to keep from crying. Either way, I recommend people buy it when it comes out on DVD. Support.