Why Do Fools Fall In Love

From a commercial standpoint, Why Do Fools Fall in Love has a great hook: the real-life story of three women (Vivica A. Fox, Lela Rochon and Halle Berry) who all claimed to be the legal widow of 1950s doo-wop legend Frankie Lymon (Larenz Tate). It's a story with sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, but the film-makers make the mistake of turning it into a rock 'n' roll Rashomon, with the three claimants to the name of Mrs. Lymon telling Frankie's life story from widely varying perspectives. Somewhere buried in that narrative is an interesting--if somewhat trite--entertainment industry life story, the story of a street kid from an abusive home who becomes dependent on the love he receives from audiences and women. Larenz Tate does a fine job of capturing Frankie's electrifying stage presence and sheer joy of performing, creating a character you want to know more about. Unfortunately, the filmmakers are more interested in getting inside the heads of the three women--providing tart dialogue for the three talented lead actresses while making them sympathetic, mis-used you-go-girls--than getting inside Frankie's head. Optional. (S. Renshaw)