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The Fighting Temptations | 2003 | PG-13 | - 5.2.4
Cultures clash when a slick and urbane urbanite (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), travels from New York City to his small and rural Georgia hometown to claim the inheritance a great-aunt left him. But there's one condition he must first fulfill: he has to put together a successful gospel choir, in a town not noted for musicality. A nightclub singer with a wondrous voice enters the scene (Beyonce Knowles) but she's shunned by the congregation who assume her virtue is questionable. Also with Mike Epps, Faith Evans and Steve Harvey. Directed by Jonathan Lynn. [2:03]
SEX/NUDITY 5 - A woman kisses a man and transfers gum to him, mouth-to-mouth. A man and a woman kiss a few times, and a man kisses a woman on the cheek. A man tries to make a pass at a woman. A man analyzes different sexual attributes of women from various parts of the South. A man and a woman sing on stage and they nuzzle and dance together. A woman sings and dances seductively on stage, then caresses a man and dances around him (she wears a low-cut top and a skirt with a slit to the hip exposing cleavage, bare shoulders and a bare thigh). There are many references to women being of questionable virtue and having children out of wedlock. A boy asks a girl if she will be his girlfriend. A woman makes a remark about wearing protection during sex. People talk about R&B being "sex music." A man talks about sewing his oats then settling down with a virgin. People talk about sexually suggestive music titles, and people dance at a night club. A woman wears very short shorts that reveal the lower part of her buttocks. Women dance on stage wearing low-cut dresses that reveal cleavage. A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage.
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VIOLENCE/GORE 2 - We hear that a woman has died and we see her funeral, with her in an open casket. We hear that another woman was killed in a hit and run accident and that a man was killed in Vietnam. A car speeds toward a man and nearly hits him. A man talks about having beaten a man down. A man on-stage is pummeled by fruit thrown by the audience. Armed guards follow three prisoners wherever they go. A man threatens a man. A man walks into a door frame, and a woman trips over another woman and they both fall on the floor. People grieve at a funeral. A man talks about a dead person becoming maggot food.
LANGUAGE 4 - 16 sexual references, 2 scatological terms, 3 anatomical terms, 8 mild obscenities, 2 religious exclamations, 1 derogatory term for African-Americans.
SUBSTANCE USE - People are shown drinking alcohol and smoking cigars. There are a few conversations about the liquor industry.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - The rural American South, exploitation of groups of people, the advertising industry, deception, fraud, cynicism, faith, hypocrisy, gospel music, children out of wedlock.
MESSAGE - Without rules society breaks down, but some rules are made to be broken.
CAVEATS
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We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
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