Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013)

Well Deserved Praise

hyped garbage

Fantastic!

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The best part of the movie is when they use Jazmine Sullivan's song, "I'm in love with another man"...that part always gives me chills. After that it goes downhill. I will say this is one of Tyler Perry's best movies, but that's not saying a lot when most of his movies suck. Good Deeds, The Family that Preys, and this one are his best, but it's only because of the incredible actors like Taraji P., Sanaa in The Family that Preys and Jurnee and Lance that makes Temptation really good. The plot is very weak and the dialogue even weaker. It's amazing that they were able to bring great performances out of the badly written script.

Somehow I thought that having Kim Kardashian in a Tyler Perry movie was surprising. I mean, think about it: She is the ultimate vixen, the very definition of a harpy, she calls men to her bed and steals all of their money. For the man who worships God like no other, to see her in one of his movies was a shock.To see the movie itself was a bigger one.I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Tyler Perry's work is almost always a well for wasted potential. It's a pity that nothing that he makes fails—if it did, he might actually learn something about storytelling, and back off from thumping the Bible to solve every problem he and his characters create.This movie takes the cake for wasted potential. I have a solution that would have made the movie ten, even fifteen times more interesting, and it would be a very simple adjustment that would really challenge Tyler and make us understand him a little more (maybe?). He should have made the bad guy into the Devil himself. Not a quasi-Devil like he is portrayed.Old Stitch has been done in countless movies and television shows. Even now he has his own series. To play the Devil is one of the greatest roles you can do, and to the delight of the actor who gets to play him. I've never seen him done wrong—from Jeff Goldblum's MR. FROST to Al Pacino's ultimate lawyer (THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE) all the way to Tim Curry's Prince of Darkness (LEGEND), there is just NO WRONG WAY to play the Devil.Instead, however, here all we have is a suave rich man doing all his smooth talking in between showing off his riches. And apparently riches are all you need to impress Judith, our main character. She doesn't really have a reason she's not getting along with her husband, who is an altogether happy-go-lucky kind of guy, he's just not rich.She's a marriage counselor, and this is my biggest complaint in the movie. Why do we make her a marriage counselor BEFORE she makes such a stupid and terrible mistake? Because I have to tell you—nobody in their right mind should go and seek out this woman for marital advice. This is a major rupture in the story, and it makes absolutely no sense… She is supposed to be a trained counselor in these matters. How could she be trained in knowing the patterns of marital infidelity and the counseling required to deal with it AND NOT BE ABLE TO SPOT IT HERSELF?Immediately a friend of mine shot back with, "Everybody makes mistakes." While this is true, you DO have to wonder how a marriage counselor could waltz right in and fall for this one. The only way that makes sense is if she is just not a very good one. I guess nobody she was counseling while all this was going on was having infidelity problems, which I suppose is technically possible, but is INCREDIBLY unlikely. Infidelity is the primary reason counseling is necessary in the first place.So you shouldn't make her a counselor off the bat, because she is obviously terrible at it. Wait until she's learned her lesson, then use that to solidify the end of the movie. Which is what Tyler does, albeit too late to really make a difference.And then we get to the AIDS part of the story. I'm not certain as to why it was necessary for Tyler to throw AIDS into this, as it turns out you could have delivered the exact same story without it and nothing would have changed. It's been suggested (more than once and very angrily too) that he is suggesting that AIDS is God's punishment for her infidelity, and why wouldn't they? There isn't a Tyler Perry production in existence, be it play or movie, that doesn't have the Almighty as a primary influence. This movie not only has the themes of it, it even shows a scene of conflict involving Judith's mother, trying desperately to pray away the demonic monster that has captured the soul of her daughter, to no avail. I guess the temptation was just too great.But to throw in AIDS the way he does truly DOES seem like he's saying it is God's punishment. I wonder, as I write this, considering how vehemently Tyler worships the Lord, what his stand on homosexuality is? I can't remember any gay characters in his work. I don't mean to draw any conclusions here, but it does make me wonder, and probably you too, if there isn't some kind of message he's trying to push here, again. One that might even be more suggestive than his usual, "Pray to God and He'll save the day" sermon.In short, if you lose the AIDS, if you make Judith a counselor-in-training, and if you make the heavy the ACTUAL Devil instead of this cheap knockoff version of one, you have yourself a much more interesting, much more powerful movie.Instead, what you have is just another Tyler Perry retread of the same old themes. People are imperfect. Temptation is everywhere. Be careful who you go to for marriage counseling. Prayer is the only way out.And for God's sake, make your man use condoms.

Brilliant story, acting needs work... "Movie should be a stepping stone when trying to bring a meaningful message across to audiences" This movie is the line between write and wrong. It highlights things that are seen by many in todays society as a fulfilled life, fancy things that means nothing! It screams out for people to remember family for what it means/represents in life. Most people will not understand the message Tyler Perry brings through this movie as they are consumed by what life offers today. Stop being ruled by this world and make your mark on it. I gave it a 10 out of 10 not because of the acting but because of the message it brings.

This is probably one of the stupidest movies I have ever seen. Not only because it preaches pseudo-morals but because it makes absolutely no sense. OK, so you want to tell the world that if you don't stay with your boring husband who forgets your birthday two years in a row, you will burn in hell. Fine, if that's what you think. But do you have to throw in all the bad stuff just because? Seriously, who believes that?So we have this rich guy, who's supposed to be the next Mark Zuckerberg and who states himself that he is a workaholic. Now, imagine Zuckerberg would beat all his girlfriends, sleep around in parties and take drugs all day long: Wouldn't we all know that, because he's famous? Wouldn't we all know that ZUckerberg, Bill Gates, whoever on Forbes hits his wife? Come on! And how can it be that he is a workaholic, but then turns out he's taking drugs and partying all the time and actually never works? His ex girlfriend is super scared, we see how she walks into her apartment and takes a bat, just in case he's there, she wants to move away cause he came in where she works, she changed her name and yet, she is still living in the same city! Maker perfect sense, Tyler Perry.I don't want to bother you with more details, just don't watch this crap from someone who obviously doesn't have a very high opinion about women or sex.