Admirable film.

It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The most fascinating part of this movie is the brilliant scene in which Frankie performs the song "Baby Baby" on stage as recounted by Little Richard. This entire scene is done with one shot and NO cuts. It begins outside the theater as the camera follows the theater patrons inside. As we enter the theater the music of the Platters swells as they are in the final strains of "The Great Pretender." As the camera goes down the aisle it does a 360 pan of the audience and then goes on-stage and circles around the Platters as they finish their song, take a bow and exit stage right. Frankie kisses Zola Taylor and then gets slapped. He and the Teenagers then rush on stage and perform their number to thunderous applause. Everything just described happens on film without a single cut, everyone performing flawlessly, including the camera man. Absolutely brilliant work!

A very good film despite being uneven at times. It is most shocking that wives 1 and 2 would take Lyman back after each episode. Wife number 3 represented the very opposite of 1 and 2. She was prim and proper but knew how to get uptight when the judge ruled against her.Larenz Tate, as Frankie Lyman, is absolutely terrific in the lead role. Tate is a very powerful performer and he knows how to very well evoke the Lyman of drug use, despair and a brief wonderful career.The court rooms scenes are great and Little Richard steals the show by playing himself in one particular scene in the witness chair.The music and dancing scenes are well staged and the title song rings out true to form.Hell certainly had no fury here when 3 women were scorned.Frankie Lyman was certainly a victim of himself. He certainly showed his inability to maintain relationships.

Director Gregory Nava misunderstands the complex, drug-addicted Frankie Lymon getting some of it right and much of it wrong.His fatal mistake from beginning to end is playing Frankie as a late teen instead of the 13 teen year old he was. This deprives one and all of seeing the simple true source of Frankie's problems. Too much fame, too fast and too young. Larenz Tate struggles with the role where he sometimes looks more like a young Sammy Davis than Frankie. The singing and dancing sequences are acceptable and Tate brings the music off adequately.The racial issues, which the film deals with, have some truth, but the details are inaccurate. In 1957 audiences in some venues were segregated, but in others were mixed and not a problem. The idea that this music helped end segregation is mentioned, but not really seen, except for the incredible scene of Frankie dancing with a white girl on 'The Big Beat'. This big surprise is very effectively handled and has major impact.I don't think Nava understands doo-wop or the relationship of the lead singer to the backups. There is a big difference between the Platters, essentially a white pop adultish Ink Spots type group and the Teenagers who were rock 'n' roll, appealing to those under 21. This just never comes across.Nava does do some clever things, pointed out in the director's cut (not recommended, way too 'Goody, Goody') as he uses a continuous roll camera to suck you in and wrap you around the scene he is filming.The attempts to stylize 'Fools' mostly works. The theme of creating the four main characters as Earth (Lela Rochon as Emira Eagle), Fire (Halle Berry as Zola Taylor), Water (Vivca Fox as Elizabeth Waters) as the 3 wives to play off Wind (Tate-Frankie) is clever and consistent. The use of scatchy 8MM flash backs is a bit over done, but gets the point of flashbacks across.All three of the parts of the wives suffer from being overly dramatic (and over acted)with the need to fit truth to the story, rather than the other way around.Most disturbing is the handling of Frankie's music. Its hard to tell his solo work from his Teenagers stuff and the sequencing of the music is out of order. At least Nava makes it clear Frankie was not a 'One hit wonder' and he had four years of outstanding singles and (not mentioned at all) some super albums, mostly as a solo. As one of the wives mentions, above all "he could sing my panties off". If you don't think so, play Frankie's version of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" followed by the weak, sad Diana Ross version.Next time Mr. Gregory Nava when doing an autobiography spend as much time keeping your facts straight and in order, as you do with clever stylization.Not recommended unless your a fan of any of the elements involved. Wanna a good music bio from more or less the same period and effectively dealing with drug addiction, watch "Ray" the magnificent Ray Charles story.

"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is somewhat flawed and takes quite a lot of artistic liberties, but it's always fun to watch. Larenz Tate isn't entirely convincing as Frankie Lymon--I guess they just cast him because he's real short. The concert scenes and TV appearances where he sings are noticeably lip-synched and look pretty cheesy. But acting-wise Tate did a fine job. Obviously, they didn't really delve into his drug addiction, to keep with its light-hearted feel. So we don't get to experience the heavy drama of Lymon's short life. The actresses were good--Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox and Lela Rochon. Their performances were equally effective and amusing. The great Little Richard has some spirited cameos. He definitely brought the mood of the film to an all-time high. I just wish he could've been in it for longer than 10 minutes. The whole movie basically concentrates on the romantic-comedy portions of Lymon's life--some true, some fabricated. There were some dramatic moments, but they occur mostly towards the end. But I got a lot of laughs and the film just has a fitfully satisfying upbeat tone. Of course, I LOVED the music. I have to admit that was one of the main reasons I enjoyed it so much. "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is a moderately loose portrayal of Lymon's life, but it makes great entertainment.