Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013)

An ambitious married woman's temptation by a handsome billionaire leads to betrayal, recklessness, and forever alters the course of her life.

Director:

Tyler Perry

Writers:

Tyler Perry (screenplay), Tyler Perry (stage play "The Marriage Counselor")

Stars:

Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Vanessa Williams, Brandy Norwood

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jurnee Smollett-Bell	...	Judith
Lance Gross	...	Brice
Kim Kardashian West	...	Ava (as Kim Kardashian)
Vanessa Williams	...	Janice
Robbie Jones	...	Harley
Renée Taylor	...	Ms. Waco Chapman
Ella Joyce	...	Sarah
Brandy Norwood	...	Melinda
Jim Adams	...	Client
Alvin Aki	...	Client #4
Sidney Baxley	...	Client #2 (as Sid Baxley)
Renee Ford Clark	...	Sarah's Church Sister #2
Candice Coke	...	Marriage Counselor
Stephanie Marie Douglas	...	Choir Singer #1
Timothy Scott Floyd	...	Choir Singer #6

Storyline

Roger Jackson strives to support his family, a group that includes not only his Ivy League-educated wife Judith (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), but his ganja-smoking father Stanley and her Bible-thumping mother TT as well. Meanwhile, Judith doles out thoughtful advice to couples every day, yet remains completely powerless when it comes to addressing the issues surrounding her own troubled marriage. When an old college friend drops by her office, Judith faces her biggest personal challenge to date..

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Plot Keywords:

sex in a bathtub | temptation | traditional marriage | praying | prayer | 

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Taglines:

Betrayal Burns Forever

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence, sexuality and drug content

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 March 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tyler Perry's Temptation

Filming Locations:

Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$21,641,679, 31 March 2013, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$51,975,354

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$53,125,354

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate, The Tyler Perry Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat Dolby Atmos SDDS Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lance Gross first worked with Tyler Perry in 'House of Payne'.

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Quotes

Ava: Judith, we've being going at this for weeks. Look around this office. What do you see?
Judith: A bunch of women with hair from India?
Ava: Look at me, Judith. What you should see is people in this office care about what they look like. Unlike you. We have over a billion dollars walking in and out of these offices looking for love. We have a standard to uphold. This is not our standard.
Judith: Okay, Ava... I don't have to wear fancy dresses and fancy shoes to prove that I'm qualified to do my job.
Ava: Yes, you do.
Judith: No, ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in On Cinema: 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' & 'Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor' (2013)

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Soundtracks

Ashtray
Written by Béatrice Bonifassi, Jean-Phi Goncalves and Simon Wilcox
Performed by Beast
Published by Avalanche Publishing, Editorial Avenue and EMI Publishing
Courtesy of Pheromone Recordings

User Reviews

Temptation: A Seduction Plot Lacking Requisite Sexual Chemistry

Temptation is a step up from Tyler Perry's previous ho-hum Alex Cross, but it still a far cry from being the kind film one would gush over. The two biggest draws in the film are Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Kim Kardashian. Smollett, who in her last film "The Great Debaters" (2007) gave an outstanding performance in great chemistry with stellar young ensemble, was not as bless with as high of a cast quality. Nevertheless, her acting as the seduced wife Judith was stretched in some new ways in "Temptation" and on the whole she doesn't do badly.

Kardashian, is irritating in her role as Ava, Judith's work colleague, but then again, that is what her character is suppose to be. As such -- many other critics' assessment notwithstanding, Kardashian's acting is neither good nor bad, but simply OK.

As for the plot, Tyler Perry(writer and director) puts forward an interesting treatment of the issues of spousal and professional dissatisfaction, and how that can be used in a seduction passion play. A decent directorial effort, but Perry is still struggling with some filmmaking fundamentals such as pacing, camera angle decisions, and very irritatingly, sound editing. There were points where the critical dialogue of protagonists seducer and seducee was too mumbled to be anything close to erotic.

The film's biggest failing is the sexual chemistry between Judith and Harley(played by Robbie Jones). It just doesn't seem like a credible attraction. Whether the actors, casting or direction is to blame, who knows? But any Perry movie these days has to be considered high profile -- if for no other reason than his large audience drawing -- and as such, anything short of smoking sexual chemistry represents a critical movie failure. I keep rooting for Perry, but this is typical of his best films -- mixed quality, mixed results.