There are many things to admire about Tyler Perry. His ascent in the entertainment industry is incredible, and he has used his power effectively to give a voice to the African-American experience the same way Woody Allen has for the Jewish experience. He gives opportunities to young African-Americans actors and veterans such as Cicely Tyson who would struggle to find work elsewhere. Perry is a shrewd, powerful businessman. But he's a horrible director and mediocre writer. His latest project "Temptation" is his worst to date. The premise not only straddles the lines of implausibility, it's downright ridiculous. A girl-next-door-type (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) who is married to a man she has known since they were both 6 years old suddenly decides to have an affair with one of her clients. She also starts to snort cocaine and hang out in seedy nightclubs. A subplot involving actress/singer Brandy is also dumb, and the plot twist at the end is the icing on the cake to this mess. When the credits began rolling, the reaction in my theater felt like a collective "Are you kidding me?" Perhaps it only makes sense that Kim Kardashian is in this movie. Remember in algebra class when we learned that a negative and a positive always equal a negative? That's what the scenes between Kardashian and Smollett-Bell produce. One can act, one can't. You do the math. Perry also needs to stop with the pointless close-up shots and phony eye-drop tears. Although with this flop, it's the audience members who paid $10 who should be crying.
