Gregory Nava directed this biographical drama on the brief but intense life of singer Frankie Lymon who stayed with the popular Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers group only for a year. Lymon was 13 years old when the group erupted from radios and jukeboxes with their 1956 hit, Why Do Fools Fall in Love? and appeared in the movie Rock, Rock, Rock (1956). After Mr. Rock and Roll (1957), Lymon turned solo, but then it all fell to pieces. Lymon's career was over by the time he was 18, and he died of a
heroin overdose eight years later. Jumping from the '50s to the '80s, this film traces the rise and fall of Lymon (Larenz Tate) in a series of flashbacks as courtroom claims on Lymon's royalties are outlined by three women: Zola Taylor (Halle Berry) of the Platters R&B group; Elizabeth Waters (Vivica A. Fox), who turned prostitute to cover costs of Lymon's recovery from addiction; and schoolteacher Emira Eagle (Lela Rochon). Little Richard also makes a courtroom appearance, while Miguel A. Nunez Jr. portrays Little Richard in scenes set in the '50s. Shown at the 1998 Urbanworld Film Festival (NY). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
Lymon's career may have been short and sad, but Why Do Fools Fall in Love finds the melodrama of his life in the exciting music of his time and the tumult of his romances.
more often than not Andrews' screenplay can't decide if it's a cautionary tale about the perils of marrying a has-been or a rowdy 'you go, girl' celebration of sisterhood.
Based on a true story: Frankie Lyman (Why do fools fall in love).
August 29, 2011
Burger Star
Super Reviewer
The first hour or so ranks as favorite movie material. It's enormously entertaining and a fresh spin on standard biopic: Diana Ross's cover of Why Do Fools Fall in Love spawns a court case where three women claim the rights to the song as Frankie Liman's wife. My favorite sequence is an infectious Larenz Tate singing
(well, lip synching) to Goodie Goodie! But the movie sort of falls apart at the end. Oh, well. Focus on the positive!
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