# Why Do Fools Fall In Love (1998)

### reviewed by
Michael Dequina

_Why_Do_Fools_Fall_in_Love_ (R) *** (out of ****)

As the summer popcorn season winds down, and the weightier fall/holiday season begins, here arrives a smoothly executed "transition" film, which tackles some fairly serious subject matter in a fun, entertaining, guilt-free package. _Why_Do_Fools..._ centers on the court battle between the late doo wop singer Frankie Lymon's (Larenz Tate) three wives--glamorous singer Zola Taylor (Halle Berry), petty thief Elizabeth Waters (Vivica A. Fox), and demure schoolmarm Emira Eagle (Lela Rochon)-- for his estimated $4 million estate . Testimony-stemmed flashbacks chronicle Lymon's quick rise to fame as the lead singer of the Teenagers (famous for the classic title song), his equally quick fall into obscurity and drugs, and the circumstances behind his untimely death.

Director Gregory Nava's recreation of Lymon's late '50s-early '60s performances are exuberant, buoyed by Tate's charismatic performance, which, in turn, provides a sympathetic anchor when things turn dark. The lighter court storyline is a bit more cliched and stereotyped, with all the verbal catfights between the women, but the appealing trio of Berry, Rochon, and especially Fox (in the showiest role of the three) make the proceedings enjoyable. These two contrasting sides, Lymon's tragically short existence and the battle between the three widows, are meshed together with ease into a pleasing cinematic confection by Nava, a proven hand musical biographies (_Selena_).

Michael Dequina mrbrown@ucla.edu | michael_jordan@geocities.com Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown CompuServe Hollywood Hotline: http://www.HollywoodHotline.com

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