Movie Review: Temptation- The Confessions of A Marriage Counsellor

By Ada Arinze Yes, the movie is out now. It started showing at the Genesis Deluxe Cinemas yesterday, and you can go here to check for viewing times. The trailer looks interesting, but because it features Kim Kardashian, most are sceptical as to whether the movie might be worth their hard-earned money and time. So, being the Good Samaritan that I am, I decided to help you make a decision. First of all, let me inform you that this is a Tyler Perry movie. With Tyler Perry movies, there are some basic things you have to expect before watching. Some of these include a strong Christian presence, slapstick humour (if it is not a serious movie) and a predominantly Black American cast showcasing basic Black American values. Also, there will be a lesson at the end for everybody watching. This movie did not derail from the mould. The story line centres around one of the major issues in marriage; the temptation to commit adultery. The two major characters, Judith and Brice (Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Lance Gross) got married early, and are trying to make it as a young married couple. The woman is highly ambitious and they are both engrossed in their work problems, her more than he, trying to acheive their dreams. Judith works in a matchmaking company with Janice (who claims she can barely understand English and peppers her speech with French) and is highly frustrated because she feels her marriage counselling goals are on pause and she is wasting her college degree. Her frustration worsens when little incidents make her dissatisfied with her husband.

While at work, a wealthy social media investor visits and wants to do business with the agency. He is assigned to Judith and begins to seduce her. This leads to a jumble of incidents that creates chaos and further lead to a whole lot of destruction. The Christian values mentioned earlier come into play through Judith’s mother, and shines its spotlight on Judith, exposing all of her flaws. This is where my problems with the movie come in. It posed a lot of unanswered questions, such as : Why was the husband neglecting his wife? He had no issues at work and he wasn’t otherwise pre-occupied (no side business, no family issues), so there are no clear reasons to the audience why he should be let off easy for not fulfilling his duties. Even with his shortcomings, he was portrayed as a victim, who did not do anything to deserve his plight. At the end of the movie he was even ‘rewarded’ (you will see what I mean). Did Judith not have any other friends from college that she could reach out to? Pour out her heart to? Because between her unrealistic mother and a husband she could barely share things with, you had to wonder how she could keep a clear head without venting. Why was such a big issue made out of her husband not defending her when strangers cat-called? He told her to walk away. That, I thought, would have been the mature thing to do. However, it appears the movie expected him to beat up the poor perpetrators (from Robbie Jones later actions), which clearly goes against its Christian backing. Why was Kim Kardashian in the movie ? Couldn’t they get an equally buxom woman who could act fairly well and not seem like she was blandly reading cue cards from the beginning to end ? And did they really, really expect us to be fooled by Janice’s (Vanessa Williams) obviously fake French accent, and gasp when she was revealed to be a phony ? Well, if you want to watch it because you enjoy the major components of a Tyler Pery movie, you will find your slapstick humour, your all-Black American cast (except the head manager of the pharmacy Brice works at) and the great lesson at the end ; because that would be the redeeming quality of this movie. I was much struck by how events turned out (although it was a little predictable, like a Mount Zion movie) and how tragic the end was. It was very real, and quite memorable. It is definitely a movie to recommend to your spouse. Cast: Jurnee Smollett- Bell, Kim Kardashian, Vanessa Williams, Brandy, Lance Gross, Robbie Jones IMDB rating: 3.5/10 Movie Duration: 111 minutes Rated PG-13