So much average

How sad is this?

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The Music, The Story, and the Acting were all equally compelling... This is entertainment at its best! One of the reasons I believe this is a favorite movie of lots of black folks is simply the diversity of the characters. Rarely had we seen an ensemble cast of wonderful, talented, yet flawed black characters that were all people we could look up to for one thing or another. Not to mention the story is one we are all familiar with, as many of the most iconic music groups suffer from these same issues yet none had been brought to the big screen prior to this film.The music being authentic plays the biggest part in the film being a classic. To this day when the songs from this film play they suck you right back in to the mood of the time.

The Five Heartbeats is about five best friends who formed a singing group in high school. The quintet participates in a local monthly talent show with hopes of being discovered. A talent scout unexpectedly sees potential in The Heartbeats and decides to offer them a deal, work with them for a month and, subsequently becomes their manager. After weeks of rehearsal the manager arranges another performance at a more competitive talent show. The group wins the contest and stumbles across a record deal the same night. With the record deal, the boys also get a chance to professionally record their original song. As their career progresses, The Heartbeats struggle with discrimination, substance abuse, and betrayal. The Five Heartbeats offers an entertaining yet didactic depiction of the untold story regarding the problems in the Black American music industry during segregated times. The first example of problems in the Black music industry is racial issues due to "separate but equal" laws and segregation in the South. After recording their first single, a record distributing company suggested that the song did not fit the group and continued to advise the song be given to an all Caucasian male group. Needless to say, The Heartbeats all but agreed and became even more enraged that the record's cover originally did not have a picture of the group but instead a picture of a Caucasian family at a beach. Because of the low budget the record company gave them while touring, The Heartbeats had to stay in the cheapest areas and survive under rural conditions. To add insult to injury, some of their touring caused The Heartbeats to have shows in the South. While driving the tour car with the group's name and title of their first single, they are unreasonably stopped by the police. The police have The Heartbeats stand outside of the vehicle, ruffle through their belongings and make them sing out of spite and ridicule. The next example of problems in the Black music industry would be drug and alcohol abuse. Lead singer, Eddie Cane Jr., begins to cope with stress and pressure by using alcohol and illegal drugs as many vocal performers have in history. Along with the owner of the record company came a cocaine dealer making drug use enticing to Eddie. Eddie's use of drugs does not alleviate his problems but instead worsens them. He loses his beloved girlfriend, his spot as lead singer, and his melodic voice which also removes his purpose in The Five Heartbeats. Eddie attempts to use Big Red, CEO of Big Red Records, to convince the manager to keep him as the lead singer which may have been Big Red's ulterior motive. However, it turns out unsuccessful and Eddie's once affluent lifestyle immediately declines. The final example of problems in the Black music industry is the motif of betrayal. By trying to persuade Eddie to go against Jimmy, Big Red has an agenda of his own to take over as manager of The Five Heartbeats. J.T. Matthews, brother of Donald Matthews, goes after Donald's fiancée, declaring their love for each other to be untrue because of his feelings for her. Because of Eddie's decline in vocal talent, The Five Heartbeats are forced to find another lead singer, Flash. After using the group to bring his name up, Flash makes an attempt to become a solo artist leaving the group without a lead singer once again. Subsequent to all of the hurt the group has been through Donald removes himself along with Flash never to be heard from again. I personally enjoy this movie because of its entertaining aspects as well as its detailed look into the music industry since that is my desired career. The minor roles and musical selections in the film are what make it entertaining. I would definitely recommend this film for anyone that loves musicals.

When I saw this movie the first time I was surprised in the end how a musical movie went straight into my heart so quickly. The soundtrack i superb and the acting i very good, especially Eddie King Jr makes a strong impression with his strong acting and a broken past. This movie shows you the strong relationship between the band members and how they struggle to survive in the music business that isn't always a road to glory. The movie ends in a great way that i memorable for a very long time. The director has done a great work, this is a movie for all soul music lovers, if you missed it try to get a hand on this movie, you won't be disappointed.

The Five Heartbeats was a real, honest, remarkable film. It was packed with emotion. Well acted by all involved. A must see to appreciate! The portrayals on the members in the group were believable. It is my understanding that this is a story based upon the popular singing group, "The Dells". I don't know how true it is. I feel that Robert Townsend not only acted well in this film but, he did a fantastic job in directing it, too. To me, it's one of if not the best piece of work that he has done. I also enjoyed his film, "The Hollywood Shuffle" but the Five Heartbeats is my overall favorite. Kudos to Mr. Townsend for a job well done and may we say his greatest works are yet to come. Thank you Mr. Townsend and I hope to meet you one day!