I absolutely assumed that after releasing The Family that Preys and Mr. Deeds (two of my favorite movies from Tyler Perry) that Temptation would have been phenomenal. However, slap me twice because I must have been having a nightmare; this movie was remarkably horrible and a major disappointment. Even if one could forgive Tyler for the underdeveloped storyline, the lack of continuity and bad acting (from some characters) it is hard to forgive the amateur directing and production choices such as: stretching out obvious parts of the storyline, but leaving us to assume and fill in the gaps to very important parts. I was left with a plethora of wonders about this movie. Some I will elaborate on, but others I will put it out on the table, because I am sure many others are wondering the same thing.
Question : How did Harley find out it was Judith's birthday to send the flowers? And why wasn't it evident that they were sent from him upfront? OK, I get it. Harley is a predator sociopath who had Judith on his radar from the moment he stepped into the practice, but really are we supposed to assume "this guy" forgot to place a card in the flowers he so obviously wanted Judith to know came from him? Come on DUMB
Question: Why was the blame only put on Judith and not on Brice or Harley? Seems like the men got a free pass in this movie; both Judith and Karen suffered the consequences from Harley's seedy ways but he was able to live and play as usual (not a good moral for the players and STD spreaders out in the world). Oh and Brice, as innocent as they tried to portray him had a huge role in Judith straying. Why wasn't this addressed? There wasn't counseling to fix him or them, just the destruction of Judith. However, Brice was able to live happily ever after with a younger wife. Huh? Let's get real, whatever problems that are prevalent and brought on by you in a first marriage, if not fixed, will exist in the next marriage. Sorry I didn't buy that happy ending.
Question: What was the point of Brandy's character, Melinda Karen What's her name? Although this character was new to the area it was obvious she was uncomfortably spooked. However when you dive into her story, it appears this girl was running from a ghost that wasn't chasing her. Yes, Harley was an abusive obsessive prick, but it didn't seem he was fazed by Melinda in the slightest. He wasn't stalking her, calling her, nothing to prove that he was obsessing over her to the point she couldn't move on. In the end Harley literally appeared surprised by her existence. Melinda/Karen seemed to be a useless additive to the movie.
Question: Was Judith on drugs? When did she use? And why the heck didn't I see her use? It is not a wise move to have the audience guess or assume a character is on drugs it is better to know. For all I know, Judith could have been a really intolerant drinker or the sex could have really just made her that week in the knees .who knows? I don't. Was Judith addicted to that stuff? Show me next time. I don't pay to see a move to fill in pot holes of assumptions. (STUPID)
Lastly, what was the point of casting two actresses to play Judith to emphasize age if none of the other characters were going to have new characters? I get trying to attain mystery in the story by casting another character to play an older Judith, but really? I was hip to that game when I realized Judith didn't grow up with a sister (like, immediately). You can't pass mystery then completely destroy it by creating a story where the main character is the only child. So, that brings me back to my original question, what was the need for the older Judith? With advancement in makeup techniques Tyler could have easily allowed Jurnee to play her older character. Besides, leaving the original character to play Brice and leaving the young brandy to play the same character without any indication of age (not even a weave change) were amateur mistakes. It all made no sense. It would have been better if Judith had a younger sister, died, and let her younger sister retell her story. That story line would have been thicker than the thin shallow story we were handed. (Shame on you Tyler.)
Other questions I refuse to delve into: Why were Judith and her husband living as if they were below the poverty line? She had an advanced degree working at a top firm and he was a pharmacist. So why the "we're barely making it" air? What happened after Judith quit her job and obviously did not start the practice? Did Judith ever mend her relationship with her mom? Hell, what happened to her mom after being thrown to the ground? What happened to Harley...did they really not turn him into the authorities for knowingly spreading HIV? Why the heck was Judith limping at the end?
All in all, this movie was lacking; lacking sustenance, connections, solutions, it lacked everything. There were big big holes that continued to get bigger. Tyler next time please fill them in, while filling me in, and don't keep me guessing.
Question : How did Harley find out it was Judith's birthday to send the flowers? And why wasn't it evident that they were sent from him upfront? OK, I get it. Harley is a predator sociopath who had Judith on his radar from the moment he stepped into the practice, but really are we supposed to assume "this guy" forgot to place a card in the flowers he so obviously wanted Judith to know came from him? Come on DUMB
Question: Why was the blame only put on Judith and not on Brice or Harley? Seems like the men got a free pass in this movie; both Judith and Karen suffered the consequences from Harley's seedy ways but he was able to live and play as usual (not a good moral for the players and STD spreaders out in the world). Oh and Brice, as innocent as they tried to portray him had a huge role in Judith straying. Why wasn't this addressed? There wasn't counseling to fix him or them, just the destruction of Judith. However, Brice was able to live happily ever after with a younger wife. Huh? Let's get real, whatever problems that are prevalent and brought on by you in a first marriage, if not fixed, will exist in the next marriage. Sorry I didn't buy that happy ending.
Question: What was the point of Brandy's character, Melinda Karen What's her name? Although this character was new to the area it was obvious she was uncomfortably spooked. However when you dive into her story, it appears this girl was running from a ghost that wasn't chasing her. Yes, Harley was an abusive obsessive prick, but it didn't seem he was fazed by Melinda in the slightest. He wasn't stalking her, calling her, nothing to prove that he was obsessing over her to the point she couldn't move on. In the end Harley literally appeared surprised by her existence. Melinda/Karen seemed to be a useless additive to the movie.
Question: Was Judith on drugs? When did she use? And why the heck didn't I see her use? It is not a wise move to have the audience guess or assume a character is on drugs it is better to know. For all I know, Judith could have been a really intolerant drinker or the sex could have really just made her that week in the knees .who knows? I don't. Was Judith addicted to that stuff? Show me next time. I don't pay to see a move to fill in pot holes of assumptions. (STUPID)
Lastly, what was the point of casting two actresses to play Judith to emphasize age if none of the other characters were going to have new characters? I get trying to attain mystery in the story by casting another character to play an older Judith, but really? I was hip to that game when I realized Judith didn't grow up with a sister (like, immediately). You can't pass mystery then completely destroy it by creating a story where the main character is the only child. So, that brings me back to my original question, what was the need for the older Judith? With advancement in makeup techniques Tyler could have easily allowed Jurnee to play her older character. Besides, leaving the original character to play Brice and leaving the young brandy to play the same character without any indication of age (not even a weave change) were amateur mistakes. It all made no sense. It would have been better if Judith had a younger sister, died, and let her younger sister retell her story. That story line would have been thicker than the thin shallow story we were handed. (Shame on you Tyler.)
Other questions I refuse to delve into: Why were Judith and her husband living as if they were below the poverty line? She had an advanced degree working at a top firm and he was a pharmacist. So why the "we're barely making it" air? What happened after Judith quit her job and obviously did not start the practice? Did Judith ever mend her relationship with her mom? Hell, what happened to her mom after being thrown to the ground? What happened to Harley...did they really not turn him into the authorities for knowingly spreading HIV? Why the heck was Judith limping at the end?
All in all, this movie was lacking; lacking sustenance, connections, solutions, it lacked everything. There were big big holes that continued to get bigger. Tyler next time please fill them in, while filling me in, and don't keep me guessing.