Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor

Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Tyler Perry
Produced by Tyler Perry
Ozzie Areu
Paul Hall
Written by Tyler Perry
Starring Jurnee Smollett-Bell
Lance Gross
Kim Kardashian West
Vanessa L. Williams
Robbie Jones
Brandy Norwood
Music by Aaron Zigman
Cinematography Alexander Gruszynski
Edited by Maysie Hoy
Production
company
Distributed by Lionsgate
Release dates
  • March 29, 2013 (2013-03-29)
Running time
 111 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $53.1 million[1]

Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor is a 2013 romance drama film produced, written, and directed by Tyler Perry. The film is adapted from Perry's play The Marriage Counselor, with several changes. This is the thirteenth film by Perry. It was released on March 29, 2013.[2]

Plot

Judith (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) is a therapist who works at a matchmaking agency owned by Janice (Vanessa L. Williams) and is married to Brice (Lance Gross), whom Judith has known since she was six. Judith and Brice attend church with her mother, Miss Sarah (Ella Joyce), a devout Christian. Brice, a pharmacist, meets another employee, Melinda (Brandy Norwood). Melinda reveals she is on the run from an abusive boyfriend.

Judith is dissatisfied with her job and anxious to start her own marriage counseling business, but Brice tells her to wait until they are more financially stable. Brice refuses to confront the men who catcall Judith on their way home from dinner.

Judith meets Harley (Robbie Jones) at work. Harley, a wealthy Internet entrepreneur who wants to invest in Janice's business, attempts to seduce Judith as they work late on matchmaking surveys. When Harley questions the absence of sex in the surveys, Judith says she does not believe in premarital sex. Harley says Judith's sex life is boring. Judith, now questioning her sex life with Brice, tries to improve it. He rejects her.

Judith changes her hair and makeup for her birthday. Brice fails to notice the change or remember her birthday. At work, Judith receives flowers that she believes are from Brice. Harley appears and notes her change in appearance -- the flowers are actually from him. Harley claims he is willing to do anything to be near her. At home, Judith leaves a cupcake with a candle in it on the counter. Realizing his mistake, Brice dances and sings in a cowboy outfit for her. The two make up.

Janice sends Judith to New Orleans with Harley to finalize a deal with shareholders, telling her to flirt with Harley, but also to be careful. Judith's coworker, Ava (Kim Kardashian), gives Judith a makeover. In New Orleans, Judith and Harley complete the business deal and go dancing and sightseeing. On the way home, Harley seduces Judith in his private jet. He takes her home and meets Miss Sarah.

Unhappy with Brice's inattentiveness, Judith sneaks out to meet Harley. He demands that she leave Brice and offers to help with her business. Judith leaves Janice's business, and the two have a falling out. Brice discovers Judith is having an affair and heads to Harley's party. Brice drags Judith outside and begs her to return to him, but Judith chooses to stay with Harley. Judith returns to the apartment she shared with Brice to pick up a laptop and becomes surrounded by her mother and church members' prayer circle. Sarah grabs Judith, trying to prevent her from leaving. Harley knocks Sarah down and forces Judith to leave. At Harley's, Judith is outraged by his treatment of her mother. Harley beats her.

Brice has dinner with Melinda. She reveals she contracted HIV from her ex, who is revealed to be Harley. Brice breaks into Harley's place with Melinda and finds Judith in the bathroom. Brice beats Harley until stopped by Melinda. As Harley regains consciousness, he calls out to Melinda, whose real name is Karen. They leave him.

In the present, Judith is HIV-positive. Brice does not contract HIV. The two chat at the pharmacy run by Brice. Brice's second wife and son visit him at work. Judith leaves to meet her mother at church.

Cast

Production

Principal photography commenced on October 26, 2011 in Atlanta at Tyler Perry Studios.[3] Tyler Perry, Ozzie Areu and Paul Hall produced the film.[4] The film was originally scheduled for release in 2012, but was pushed back for a March 2013 release. In initial reports regarding the film's cast, it was stated that veteran actor Jerry Stiller was going to have an unspecified role in the film, but it was ultimately proven to be false.

Box office

Temptation grossed $21,641,679 on its opening weekend and debuted at number 3 at the box office behind G.I. Joe: Retaliation and The Croods. Its box office total was $53,125,354. It is the highest-grossing Tyler Perry film which the writer-director did not star in and the highest-grossing Tyler Perry drama.

Home media

Temptation was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 9, 2013 with two featurettes and includes a digital copy. Tyler Perry's play The Haves and the Have Nots was also released on DVD on the same date.

Reception

The film was not screened for critics,[5] but has received predominantly negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives a score of 15% based on 33 reviews.[6] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 27%, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[7] Many point to the fact that the main character was "punished" with HIV for cheating on her husband, further miseducating and stigmatizing the disease.[8]

Kim Kardashian won the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress for her performance in the film, while Tyler Perry was nominated for Worst Director (where he lost to the 13 people who directed Movie 43).

References

  1. ↑ "Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013)". Box Office Mojo. 2013-03-27. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  2. ↑ "Tyler Perry's The Marriage Counselor". ComingSoon.net. CraveOnline. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  3. ↑ Fleming, Mike (October 21, 2011). "Kim Kardashian To Co-Star In Tyler Perry's 'The Marriage Counselor'". Deadline.com. PMC. Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
  4. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (October 20, 2011). "Smollett to star in Tyler Perry's 'Marriage'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Also in theaters: 'Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor' | Dallasnews.com - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News". Dallasnews.com. 2013-03-28. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  6. ↑ "Temptation". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  7. ↑ "Tyler Perry's Temptation Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  8. ↑ Miller, Veronica (3 April 2013). "Tyler Perry's plot twist in 'Temptation' puts down HIV/AIDS victims". Retrieved 5 February 2014.

External links

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