an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

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

Truth is stranger than fiction, and Frankie Lymon proved it with the life he lived. The title taken from the 1950s hit song, matches perfectly, the story told here. Lymon was only thirteen years old when he became a star. His career was over, five years, at the age of eighteen, and fell into heroin use, which killed him at twenty five; a sad life, indeed. Instead of focusing on the music, the film follows the court case of the three wives that Mr. Lymon left behind. Halle Berry, Lela Rochon, and Vivica A. Fox play the three women with style and humor. They are a singer, a schoolteacher, and a woman who became a prostitute to support Lymon. What an incredible story, with a funny script, good music, and solid acting from the three sexy and beautiful actresses, especially my personal favorite, Halle Berry. Worth watching for the soundtrack alone.

WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE? is a supremely entertaining biopic of the young singer Frankie Lyman, which unfolds in a clever variation on the traditional flashback form of storytelling. The film opens with three women arriving at Frankie's former manager's office after his death, trying to claim his estate, all claiming to be the legal widow of Lyman and it is during the trial to determine which of these ladies is Lyman's legal widow where Frankie's story unfolds. As with all movie biographies, you never know how much you're watching is based on fact and what has been enhanced or diluted for dramatic effect. In this screenplay, Frankie is a charismatic young singer, who apparently had no problem charming women out of their clothes and their money, the latter of which apparently went to support his drug habit. Frankie's drug use is somewhat glossed over and the screenplay tends to concentrate more on Frankie's manipulative ways with these three women and how he, at one time or another, managed to convince all three of them that there were the only women in the world. Baby-faced Larenz Tate plays Frankie with a sincerity and sexiness that possibly oversells Frankie's real womanizing, but he manages to keep Frankie likable despite some of the slimy things he does. The three women in Frankie's life are well played by Halle Berry, Viveca A. Fox, and Lela Rochon, with Fox a standout in probably the best performance of her career. The musical sequences are troublesome...Tate works hard at lip-syncing authentically, but I never bought the lip-syncing in the film...all of the musical sequences in the film come off sounding "canned." Still, Tate and the ladies commit to their roles and do make the movie worth watching. I don't know how accurate the film is as a biography of Frankie Lyman, but it is a very entertaining film that will effortlessly hold interest.

"Why Do Fools Fall In Love" is really just another average rock star biography. Larenz Tate is great as Frankie Lymon, as are Halle Berry, Vivica Fox and Lela Rochon as the three "wives" locked in a battle over his estate, but the film is way overlong. The title is certainly appropriate. For most of his career, Lymon was a habitual drug user and was at times abusive to many of the women who loved him. It seemed nobody who stood in his way was safe, especially that poor little dog he accidentally dropped out of an apartment window. When he died in 1968, many of his fans and friends were shocked at first, but then later they probably realized that he had paid the expected price for his lifestyle.I bought this one in a previously-viewed movie bin at my local video store, but now I think I will return it. I don't think it's worth watching more than once.Rating: **

Starring: Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox, Lela Rochon, Larenz Tate, and Little Richard Director: Gregory Nava 115 minutes Rated R (for language, sexuality and thematic elements)"Why Do Fools Fall In Love" is a mostly pleasant, uplifting experience in the wonderful world of film. It is a memorable musical with tunes to remember and an atmosphere to be charmed by. Not only is this a good movie, but one worth the price of a theater ticket (even though it is now available on home video and DVD, and no longer at the multiplex). I liked it---and I recommend it!The film's title, "Why Do Fools Fall In Love," comes from the name of a song sang by the 1950's rock and roll group called "The Teenagers." A key member in that band is Frankie Lymon, who was 13 when he had his big record hit and 25 when he committed suicide. The record had success beyond imagination for his band. Propelling them into the world of greed, fame, and confusion as gradually their team began to break apart and turn on each other, causing Frankie to turn to a life of drugs, the army, and sex, with his wife, of course...but did I mention he had three of them."Why Do Fools Fall in Love" tells the inspiring story of how musical legend Frankie Lymon married three separate women without any of them having any knowledge of the other. The movie does not tell its story through the eyes of Frankie Lymon, however, but with the three women who all claim to be the wife of the late Frankie Lymon squabbling in court over the estate: Zola Taylor (Halle Berry) who is a glamorous singer with the Platters, Elizabeth Waters (Vivica A. Fox), a crook who supported him so much that she took he love to the extreme to pay the money in which needed to be used for his drug rehab, and Emira Eagle (Lela Rochon), a religious school teacher who was always there for him after he was part of the Army and sent to Georgia for training. They each argue that they deserve the four million that Frankie held in his estate.The premise is informational and well structured. We learn who the main characters are, what we are dealing with here, and a clear problem. Although the emotional view point of this film is constantly changing, making it hard to root for anyone in the cast, for a long period of time the emotional side of the story stands out of the picture, because most of the story is told through flashbacks of the Spouses, and when in trial, the emotional point of view varies from person to person, making any of the flashback scenes irrelevant. Yes, the subject madder of the film is a little ridiculous, but I think the point of view that the director chose to use here is quite effective, nonetheless. One of the witnesses, Little Richard, provides cute comic relief in the middle of the dramatic heat.Much of this film is full of style and glamour. The singing scenes with Frankie are so inspiring and energetic it is hard not to want to clap for him at the end of his performance. Speaking of performances, Larenz Tate acts creatively and hip as Frankie himself. Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox and Lela Rochon are all perfect in their roles as well. All of their characters discharge chemistry from one another.Around mid-point in "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" the hard truth sets in. Frankie Lymon becomes a has-been and discovers the world of crime and drugs. The movie losses its energy, becomes dark and goes down hill. Frankie gets in fights with druggies, his wife, his agents, and in an emotionally disturbing scene he even has the gull to throw his wife's pet dog out the window. This movie beings as a charm feast and turns into a profanely fueled, hard core slice of street life. This concept does not work, and in some ways, ruins the production. I think the filmmakers should have focused a little bit more on Frankie's successes than his failures, then we may have had a lot here.Even so, the last twenty minutes of the film we just great, and we leave the movie with a happy feeling inside knowing forever about the successes and disappointments of Frankie Lymon. Isn't that what this kind of movie exists for, informing us about somebody in an entertaining way. In that case, this is an imaginative gem of truth and lies.