Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Gregory Nava

Writer (WGA):

Tina Andrews (written by)

Release Date:

28 August 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music

Tagline:

The story of three very different women.....with one man in common.

Plot:

In the mid-80s, three women (each with an attorney) arrive at the office of New York entertainment manager...

Plot Keywords:

Question In Title | Crowd | Memory | Showbiz | Drug Addict

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Halle Berry	...	Zola Taylor
Vivica A. Fox	...	Elizabeth 'Mickey' Waters
Lela Rochon	...	Emira Eagle
Larenz Tate	...	Frankie Lymon
Paul Mazursky	...	Morris Levy
Pamela Reed	...	Judge Lambrey
Alexis Cruz	...	Herman Santiago
David Barry Gray	...	Peter Markowitz
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.	...	Young Little Richard (as Miguel A. Nunez Jr.)
Clifton Powell	...	Lawrence Roberts
Lane Smith	...	Ezra Grahme
Ben Vereen	...	Richard Barrett
Paula Jai Parker	...	Paula King
Marcello Thedford	...	Drug Dealer
Norris Young	...	Jimmy

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 | Singapore:M18 | Iceland:12 | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Company:

Rhino Films

Trivia:

When Tina Andrews wrote the original script, the part of Frankie Lymon was first offered to Michael Jackson.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Elizabeth Waters testified in court that she first met Frankie in 1961, but in the flashback to their first meeting, the music playing on the department store stereo is "Walk On The Wild Side", not released in 1962.

Quotes:

Zola Taylor: Frankie just needed something different...*all* the time.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Soundtrack:

Little Bitty Pretty One

Great music, adequate characterizations

I enjoyed a lot of this movie but I would have liked a tad more insight into the life of Frankie Lyman. In one scene, he talks about his abusive father, but other than that, there was little revealed about him. I understand it was mostly from his wives point-of-view, but it have helped the story along. In addition, you couldn't tell which of the wives was spinning a tale in order to get a larger settlement.

The large cast was very talented and I especially appreciated that the make-up on the three women was not overdone to make them age. All in all, I enjoyed it very much, but it could have been much better.