August 28, 1998
By Linda Deutsch
AP SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Only a handful of movies have captured the excitement and unique character of the era that created rock `n' roll. "The Idolmaker'' and "The Buddy Holly Story'' come to mind.
But few seem to have told it as well as Gregory Nava's new film, a movie that might seem the least likely candidate to go beyond its character-driven story and give us insight into the cultural changes mirrored by music in the 1950s and 1960s.
"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is the story of Frankie Lymon (of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers) and the tangled, tragic path his life took after dazzling success with the title song and a string of other hits.
The dramatic vehicle is an intriguing true story. Three women came forward after Lymon's death, each claiming to be the rightful widow of the singing star and seeking royalties on his still popular songs. Each claim was questionable, and the matter wound up in a bitterly fought court case. We meet them at the start of this battle.
Through testimony and flashbacks, we learn about Lymon's rise and fall from superstardom to drug addiction and his involvements with three beautiful but very different women.
The female leads — the gorgeous Halle Berry as singing star Zola Taylor of The Platters, Vivica A. Fox as a down-on-her-luck shoplifter and Lela Rochon as a prim school teacher — turn in rich, multi-layered performances.
In a telling moment during a break in court proceedings, one "wife" says to another: "You didn't seem like Frankie's type." The third "wife" chimes in, "It seems everybody was Frankie's type." And therein lies the tale.
Beyond his romances and his problems with a venal manager-songwriter (Paul Mazursky in a strong supporting performance) Frankie's life and music serve as a microcosm for an age that was nothing less than revolutionary.
Here was a young black kid from the streets of New York, singing with a group of mostly Hispanic friends, inventing a new musical sound and winning screams of approval from a predominantly white audience.
In one scene, a pretty blonde jumps on stage to jitterbug with the star during a live TV broadcast, sending shivers through crew members who gasp: "Frankie's dancing with a white wom-an." The show is quickly canceled. Racism prevails.
The most powerful expression of the era's excitement comes in an amazing cameo appearance by Little Richard whose performance as a trial witness is almost as show stopping as his singing style.
In concert scenes, in street scenes and in the Beverly Hills mansion that is the symbol of Zola Taylor's success we see signposts of the era. Costume designer Elisabetta Beraldo has given us female stars in cocktail dresses with wide swirling skirts and male singers decked out in tuxedos.
We see go-go girls singing backup, peace demonstrators in the streets and audiences full of girls in pedal pushers and sweater sets, saddle shoes and hair in pony tails. Shag carpeting is the height of home decorating chic.
Production designer Cary White seems to have raided every thrift store around for the authentic costumes and decorations.
Gregory Nava, who directed the musical biography "Selena," brings out the best in all of his stars, not the least of whom is Larenz Tate in the title role. Handsome, energetic and appealing as the young Frankie, the actor, who last appeared as Kevin Kostner's sidekick in "The Postman," projects a magnetism that explains each woman's overwhelming attraction to him. And his lip synching of Lymon's songs is perfect. He even does the splits a la Lymon.
But Tate's transformation into a drug-addled loser is less convincing, relying heavily on makeup to get the message across.
The musical score is best when it relies on Lymon's legacy and on rock `n' roll standards of such groups as The Platters. Audiences will be humming those tunes long after they leave the theater.
"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is a Warner Bros. release produced by Paul Hall, Stephen Nemeth, Mark Allan and Harold Bronson. Screenwriter Tina Andrews makes a strong writing debut after a career as an actress.
Running time 123 minutes. Rated R for language, sex scenes, drug use.
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