Music-based romantic drama about the late singer/songwriter Frankie Lymon, who was responsible for many hit records but whose self-destructive life ended early, with many relationships left unresolved. three women, each claiming to be his wife, each with

Average Customer Review: ( 37 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

23 of 29 found the following review helpful:

I guess I'm in the minority, because...Jun 10, 2003
By The Fancy One "blackprincess"
I really didn't care for this movie very much. I suppose those who say they love it don't really know anything about Frankie Lymon or his music, and saw it as just another film about a famous singer who died before his time. It barely mentions anything about young Lymon's career with the Washington Heights' kid doo-wop group he started out with, The Teenagers - instead the focus was on his three wives fighting in court over whom was most entitled to the small fortune he left behind. In 1968, Frankie died at age 26 of a heroin overdose, but the story itself takes place in the 1980s, nearly 20 years after Lymon's death. Instead of a true biography of this young man's tragic story, we got this.

"Why Do Fools Fall In Love?", which obviously takes its title from the hit song that Lymon co-wrote, never really gives you the reason why Frankie (played by the talented actor Larenz Tate) was so very important in the history of R&B/rock and roll. He was a superstar by the time he was 13, but he was thrust into an adult world way before he should have. He experienced too much too soon - he lived fast, loved and partied hard, and died young. Ignoring the fact that he was the first teenaged idol of rock and roll (like the little Michael Jackson of his era) and was a huge influence on other kid groups that would come after his, in this film Frankie was overwhelmingly (and sometimes unfairly) portrayed as nothing more than some '50s rock n' roll has-been who was a womanizer, bigamist, and a violent drug addict. That in itself is a gross disservice to the memory of Frankie and his musical legacy. There were so many things about the life of this gifted young man that was not even addressed here, and it is downright insulting to his fans to try to pass this off as a biopic.

On top of that, the three actresses who played his wives (Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox, Lela Rochon) got more screen time than Larenz did, and was billed over him. Excuse me, but wasn't this film supposed to be Frankie's story? Surely his upbringing and struggles as a teenage entertainer alone certainly would have been enough to make this watchable. I was not interested in seeing a movie about his wives. Who cares about them? They were all depicted as greedy, disgruntled women who only wanted the privilege of being legally called "the one and the only Mrs. Frankie Lymon" because money was involved. They certainly didn't seem to have much love for him.

Larenz Tate is one of my favorite actors and he did his best, but he was too old for the role of Frankie, at least at the age of 13, anyway. I had to wonder at just what age did he become involved with Zola Taylor of the Platters, because you're given the impression that he was dealing with her when he was only 13! The real fault in this film lies within the script, written by Tina Andrews (who was also responsible for the equally ridiculous script in a 1999 TV movie about the so-called "romance" between the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, and one of his female slaves, Sally Hemings). It was awful, and just not worthy of any of the actors' talents. It's clear that Ms. Andrews had little or no knowledge of Frankie's life story, so this is why we got a ridiculous film about his widows trying to cash in on his estate. Herman Santiago, one of the original Teenagers, had also written a screenplay about Frankie, but it was bypassed in favor of the one written by Andrews - maybe the producers should have reconsidered. Andrews was not there, but Santiago WAS. He could have given us more insight about the life of his former friend than someone who never knew him.

I gave it three stars for the musical performances, the footage of the real Frankie performing at the end, and a cameo by Little Richard, but I feel the definitive movie about his life has yet to be made. This doesn't even come close! He deserves better.

5 of 5 found the following review helpful:

I love Gregory Nava....this film left a lot to be desired......Jun 15, 2007
By D. Pawl "Dani"
One of my favorite contemporary directors, today, is the great filmmaker, Gregory Nava. Nava is known best for the powerful EL NORTE, MI FAMILIA (MY FAMILY) and SELENA. He has great ability to combine warm humor with high drama, and [oftentimes] succeeds in shaping very compelling characters in the great stories he tells. Unfortunately, I don't feel that this really took place in WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE.

Frankie Lymon (Larenz Tate) was a legend, during his heyday. At thirteen years old, he was the lead singer of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. He also co-wrote the hit "Why Do Fools Fall In Love." This catapulted him into stardom, during the height of the do-wop era, in the United States. Not only was a trailblazer, due to his young age, but The Teenagers were a multiracial group, at a time where that was pretty progressive (the mid-1950s). Two of his band members were Puerto Rican, and Lymon and the other Teenagers were African-American. Success seemed synonymous with the name Frankie Lymon, but, as they say, "everyone will get their fifteen minutes of fame." Frankie's success took a u-turn, once his voice changed, and he began his descent into heroin addiction. In between his highs (and catastrophic lows--including the turbulent break-up between Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers), that left time and room for him in his schedule to get married to three women--at the same time! Of course, it wasn't nearly as straightforward as that. Botched court papers, troubles with addiction and unfinalized divorces led to this predicament. In the 1980s, the three women met face to face, and went on to take each other on in court, to determine who was to inherit Lymon's $4 million fortune. This co-stars Halle Berry, Lela Rochon and Vivica A. Fox, as the wives in question.

I found myself shaking my head in disappointment, thinking, "Ay, Gregory Nava, what were you thinking?" Okay, for starters, "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" is a great song. I won't argue with that. However, the song is almost constantly playing as the background soundtrack for this dramedy. I'm not exaggerating. It's great the first few times, but once you've heard it about ten times, you begin to wonder who was editing the film (or if editing even occurred). The other songs from the era are really great, classic tunes. They are undeniably catchy, but there are times where they feel more than a little manipulative. It's almost as though the director was relying on the music as a crutch for the film, so we'd forget the [slightly] melodramatic camera angles, uproarious emotional outbursts and shots of Lymon coming down or riding the high of his heroin use. Larenz Tate lipsynchs as well he can, and I do feel that he did a believeable job, playing Lymon here. However, Halle Berry (as Zola Taylor, female singer for The Platters), Vivica A. Fox (as Elizabeth Waters, a perpetual shoplifter) and Lela Rochon (as Elmira Eagle) felt more like caricatures to me than anything else. We have our diva, bad girl and church-going good girl. Three very different women for the three very different faces of the manipulative lothario, Frankie Lymon. And, he managed to fool all of them, equally. I realize that it's hard to portray the events of this story without it coming off as much more than an exploitative tabloid, due to the subject matter. Lymon tragically died of a heroin overdose at age twenty-five, just when he was contemplating getting his singing career together, after a long draught. It was very sad and unfortunate, and he was undeniably talented. What's more, the effect of his narcissism and addiction problems left tracks marks on many of his relationships. This wasn't a tribute, but more of an excuse to air the dirty laundry of someone too sick (and dead too many years), and it shows.

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:

terribly flawedNov 06, 2005
By Kimberley Wilson
Unlike Jamie Fox in Ray Charles and Angela Basset in What's Love Got to Do With It Larenz Tate never got the character of Frankie Lyman right and that's why the movie just doesn't rise to what it could have been. First, Tate is way too old to play Frankie. The boy was only 13 when he recorded Why Do Fools Fall in Love. He was dead at just 26. Second, the movie fails to show what a huge talent Frankie Lyman was and it doesn't, perhpas delberately, dwell on what a tragedy his life was. The movie should have been about how the talented black artists of the 50s were cheated out of their royalties (Ray Charles was the rare exception), used and discarded. Instead it focuses on the widows. No discussion is given to why at least two of these women were messing with a teenaged boy and they are presented simply as the victims of Lyman's habit. When and how the teen was introduced to heroin, who made his decisions for him, and how many child labor laws were broken in the exploitation of Lyman are not even approached. The scene where he ends up dead is shot so quickly that there's no emtional resonance at all. It seems like other than gathering for his funeral nobody at all was thinking about this kid.

This movie could've been another Lady Sings the Blues or at least another Bird but instead the producers chose the easy way and gave the audience a weak soap opera. Waste. Hopefully somebody will do a documentary on Lyman's short, pitiable life.

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:

A very guilty pleasureAug 23, 2005
By D. GERALD
I enjoy watching this movie but it is by no means a good film. I'm only 25 but I'm a big fan of the doo-wop era and the movie really doesn't do the Frankie Lymon story justice. Larenz Tate does his very best but he was too old to play Frankie Lymon. Frankie was only 13 when he hit it big and the film never goes into the real tradegy that was Frankie Lymon, the first teenage rock'n'roll superstar and the first over the hill celebrity. You can only imagagine what a fall that must have been. I've heard that his voice changed when he hit puberty and that's when his career went sour. The movie completely ignores these details of Frankie's life and centers on the women who fought over his estate when he died. An interesting back story but Frankie's talent deserved more

That being said, I do enjoy watching this movie. Tate does what he can in the concert parts but I wish there had been more. All in all it is a cute little story. My favorite part is the very end when you get to see a small glimpse of the real Frankie Lymon and you can see that one of his shows must of been pure magic. I wish the speacial features would have had a documentary with some more vintage Frankie Lymon clips.

Worth buying but get it used or at a discount

See all 37 customer reviews on Amazon.com