ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

garytheroux It was true in the '50s and still is today: it's no exaggeration to state that most hitmaking careers are over in 18 months. Teen idols fare the worst, and such was the fate of Frankie Lymon, who scored but three Top 20 hits between February 1956 and the summer of 1957: "Why Do Fools Fall In Love," "I Want You To Be My Girl" (both with The Teenagers) and "Goody Goody" (as a soloist). After that, the industry and music buyers considered him to be yesterday's former fresh face. And, like most young teens who become overnight sensations, Frankie's firework-long popularity came to cripple him later as a) people would not accept him as anything other than a 13-year-old and b) he was utterly unprepared to cope with real life once his flash of fame had ended. An insightful peek into Frankie Lymon's mercurial life would have made a great movie -- but this isn't it. Instead, we get only a superficial look at Lymon, as the movie focuses instead on the three women who claimed to be his wife. Lymon does not deserve to be shoved into the background of his own biopic, especially as his story is representative of the rise and fall of many flash-in-the-pan artists who find themselves revered by the public one minute and then dumped into history's ashcan the next -- often before they really reach the summit of their skills. (Believe me -- as the writer of "The History Of Rock 'n' Roll," I know this all too well.) The three women battling over his estate were more a footnote to his story than the real drama and far too much time is allocated to letting the three female leads each take a star turn. Yes, Zola Taylor was the best-known of the three, but she is portrayed following her run with The Platters as an in-the-money solo star headlining live shows with her giant hit "Only You." Are the producers kidding? Zola Taylor didn't even JOIN The Platters until AFTER "Only You" had become a million-seller! The Platters scored big as the most successful hitmaking singing group of the late '50s (1955-9), despite the fact that the "group" was really lead vocalist Tony Williams -- with the others as mere background singers. (What were The Doors, for example, without Jim Morrison?) Zola only sang lead on a couple of minor Platters chart items -- and after leaving the act, immediately sank into near total obscurity. The Platters' golden era ended in 1960 after Tony left on his ill-fated solo career. (I explored this in great detail while assembling a 60-track Platters career retrospective 3-CD box set.) None of The Platters really made much money at all -- as they were mere salaried employees of their manager, Buck Ram. Ram wrote much of their material, told them what to sing and how, produced their records, owned The Platters' name and (no surprise) kept nearly all of the loot himself. The portrayal of Morris Levy, who owned several labels including Gee (the recording home of Lymon and The Teenagers) was pretty accurate. Not all record labels screwed artists as thoroughly as Levy's did, but his methods were none too unusual for the time. In fact, they're not much different than what the industry does today!

Jammin9000 I loved this movie. I was flipping through the cable channels, and this was on. It sucked me in. It was one of the Best movies I have ever seen. Halle Berry did a remarkable job. If you haven't seen this movie, SEE IT!

Roger-81 I don't believe this movie didn't do better in the ratings. I thought it was clever and entertaining. Halle Berry is beautiful and Larenz Tate was engaging as Frankie Lymon. Again, Gregory Nava is a director to watch for. I didn't realize he also did Selena and that was a movie I also enjoyed. Nothing heavy or slick, no action, fires, explosions, just good story telling about characters and their relationships with one another.

Movie-12 Starring: Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox, Lela Rochon, Larenz Tate, and Little Richard Director: Gregory Nava 115 minutes Rated R (for language, sexuality and thematic elements)"Why Do Fools Fall In Love" is a mostly pleasant, uplifting experience in the wonderful world of film. It is a memorable musical with tunes to remember and an atmosphere to be charmed by. Not only is this a good movie, but one worth the price of a theater ticket (even though it is now available on home video and DVD, and no longer at the multiplex). I liked it---and I recommend it!The film's title, "Why Do Fools Fall In Love," comes from the name of a song sang by the 1950's rock and roll group called "The Teenagers." A key member in that band is Frankie Lymon, who was 13 when he had his big record hit and 25 when he committed suicide. The record had success beyond imagination for his band. Propelling them into the world of greed, fame, and confusion as gradually their team began to break apart and turn on each other, causing Frankie to turn to a life of drugs, the army, and sex, with his wife, of course...but did I mention he had three of them."Why Do Fools Fall in Love" tells the inspiring story of how musical legend Frankie Lymon married three separate women without any of them having any knowledge of the other. The movie does not tell its story through the eyes of Frankie Lymon, however, but with the three women who all claim to be the wife of the late Frankie Lymon squabbling in court over the estate: Zola Taylor (Halle Berry) who is a glamorous singer with the Platters, Elizabeth Waters (Vivica A. Fox), a crook who supported him so much that she took he love to the extreme to pay the money in which needed to be used for his drug rehab, and Emira Eagle (Lela Rochon), a religious school teacher who was always there for him after he was part of the Army and sent to Georgia for training. They each argue that they deserve the four million that Frankie held in his estate.The premise is informational and well structured. We learn who the main characters are, what we are dealing with here, and a clear problem. Although the emotional view point of this film is constantly changing, making it hard to root for anyone in the cast, for a long period of time the emotional side of the story stands out of the picture, because most of the story is told through flashbacks of the Spouses, and when in trial, the emotional point of view varies from person to person, making any of the flashback scenes irrelevant. Yes, the subject madder of the film is a little ridiculous, but I think the point of view that the director chose to use here is quite effective, nonetheless. One of the witnesses, Little Richard, provides cute comic relief in the middle of the dramatic heat.Much of this film is full of style and glamour. The singing scenes with Frankie are so inspiring and energetic it is hard not to want to clap for him at the end of his performance. Speaking of performances, Larenz Tate acts creatively and hip as Frankie himself. Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox and Lela Rochon are all perfect in their roles as well. All of their characters discharge chemistry from one another.Around mid-point in "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" the hard truth sets in. Frankie Lymon becomes a has-been and discovers the world of crime and drugs. The movie losses its energy, becomes dark and goes down hill. Frankie gets in fights with druggies, his wife, his agents, and in an emotionally disturbing scene he even has the gull to throw his wife's pet dog out the window. This movie beings as a charm feast and turns into a profanely fueled, hard core slice of street life. This concept does not work, and in some ways, ruins the production. I think the filmmakers should have focused a little bit more on Frankie's successes than his failures, then we may have had a lot here.Even so, the last twenty minutes of the film we just great, and we leave the movie with a happy feeling inside knowing forever about the successes and disappointments of Frankie Lymon. Isn't that what this kind of movie exists for, informing us about somebody in an entertaining way. In that case, this is an imaginative gem of truth and lies.