MovieChat Forums > The Temptations (1998) Discussion > Fav scenes the one's that made u laugh a...

Fav scenes the one's that made u laugh and smile or even cry

posted 14 years ago by Melissax1972
26 replies | jump to latest

I have so many to name a few
1. When they finally have their hit song "My Girl" and the scene cuts to Al and Johnnie Mae I love their facial expressions

2. The scene in which David snatches the mic

3. When Mama Haze tell Otis she has cancer( I cry on that one) as well as when Blue tells Otis that Lamont has passed away.

4. The scene where Lamont and Otis are playing basketball and he asks his dad to step up and be his father.

5. The scene Eddie goes to davids house to convince him to come back for the reunion when david says "i wasnt fired i quit" lol

6. The Funeral for Melvin was so sad as they replayed past scenes, and the song by Smokey was great

7. The rehearsal when the group is back together for that brief period is touching.
This is just to name a few there are so many, One thing I would like to add I wonder does Otis feel guilt about not letting Paul or David rejoin the group maybe if he had the tragic things wouldnt have happened, and why didnt the other guys in the group ever override Otis in making the decisions anyway they could have left him and formed their own group. Hell can Otis even sing I have never heard him?

[–] homestar_is_cool 14 years ago

Sad to see that nobody's mentioned that scene where the then-Elgins are trying to think of a memorable name for their band right outside of Hitsville USA - and out of nowhere, Melvin suggests "The Testicles".

How would that band's career end up if they named the Testicles?

[–] JEFJR 13 years ago

On the contrary, it's great that MOST people here chose to keep this discussion above the "South Park" level.

[–] PhineasAppleby 10 years ago

Do you get nose bleeds sitting on your high horse?

[–] nikkilynn1982 14 years ago

I've seen the movie over 50 times so I know most of the lines by heart now!

Here are some of my favorite scenes:

1. Of course #1 is when David grabs the microphone -- that's classic!

2. When they're sitting around the table eating at Mama Rose's house after the
New Year's party and David says he really wants to join the group and he
mentions his tragic childhood and how his mama gave him to a pimp who she
owed money to. The looks on their faces like, "Man -- that's bad."

3. When they're on their first national T.V. show (I'm guessing "Ed Sullivan"?
That was a performer's "big break", when they got a shot at being on that
show.) singing "My Girl" and their friends and family are watching. I always
want to cry because you know they FINALLY made it and this is their first
big hit record.

4. When they pull up to Motown, each in fancy new Cadillacs.....and David gets
out of a Rolls Royce. lol

5. When Otis walks up when David's crying and asks "what's wrong?" and David
says, "nothing....for the first time I'm part of something that's RIGHT."

6. At the picnic, when people start to see David's weird, controlling, jealous
behavior.

7. When their manager Shelley hands David the paper telling him he's fired.
Leon does a great acting job here running through the gamut of emotions from
anger, to disbelief, to desperation so quick. First he looks really angry
at the guys through the window, then he gets this kind of arrogant little
smirk on his face, then as soon as he turns to run back to his car, he has a
sad and desperate look as if to say, "oh hell....what do I do now???" Gotta
love Leon!

8. Eddie's devotion to his best friend, Paul, where he tries on several
occasions to keep him from getting kicked out of the group. Then after
Paul's funeral, where Melvin tries to offer him some words of strength and
hope and he says, "Melvin.....always the rock." and you see that these guys
weren't just "a group" -- they were family.

This is just the best T.V. bio ever. It got totally ripped off in the Emmy
awards. I think it should have won for "Best Drama" or "Best Musical", and definitely Leon should have won for his portrayal of David Ruffin.

[–] Skylightmovies 11 years ago

I really don't think I can add much more to that , it's like you read my heart...

But , I don't know why, I ALWAYS cry badly when they perform 'My Girl' and get to the lines..I got SOOOO much honey the bees envy me...a sweeter song than the birds in the trees..
Can't explain why but when you get to the end of the film after all the losses and Otis' son dying and you think it's all too much.....

They put the full performance on at the end....more tears...

I feel sooo lucky to have heard these songs with those fantastic voices.
An amazing era all round, Marvin,Sam Cooke...
The only thing that would top this is to know if they did all their own singing and researched the interpretations so well.
One of my favourite musical bios.
How I wish these actors were used a hell of a lot more than the occasional TV role.

[–] jackiefoxybrown 11 years ago

Number 7 all the way is a great scene. Leon did a fantastic job with morphing into Ruffin. If you watch David Ruffin's Unsung on TvOne you will see that Leon excuted that role. I think what makes that scene so great is the music in the background as he is told that he can no longer be in the group. Beautiful.

[–] Arimas01 10 years ago

Leon does a great acting job here running through the gamut of emotions from
anger, to disbelief, to desperation so quick. First he looks really angry
at the guys through the window, then he gets this kind of arrogant little
smirk on his face, then as soon as he turns to run back to his car, he has a
sad and desperate look as if to say, "oh hell....what do I do now???" Gotta
love Leon!

He gone cry in the car! HaHaHa!!!

You may be entitled to your own opinion but you are not entitled to mine.
Arimas, Samira

[–] cclub 14 years ago

My memorable scenes:

When they were singing "mama" to Berry Gordy

Scene where Paul is recording "I want a love I can see"

Scene where Mama tells Otis she has cancer

Scene where Otis is notified of his son's death.

Scene where Otis is playing basketball with his son and his son feels that he is not spending enough time with him

Scene where Melvin is flirting with this beautiful woman with the red afro and he gets shot as his car is stolen from him

Scene where David tells Otis "They don't come to see you, Otis"

Scene where David snatches the mike!!!!

I love this movie

[–] SteelKeez 14 years ago

1.the fight between David and Otis backstage..Davids says "the temptations without david ruffin is the temptations searching for a david ruffin!" lol calling Dennis out "fake ass imitation david ruffin!"

Go home and get your F'n shine box!...Billy Batts (Goodfellas)

[–] kittykittymeowmeow19 14 years ago

Laugh-"Ain't nobody coming to see you otis"
Smile-Them performing My Girl and The way you do the things you do
Cry-Several parts but mostly the ending "temptaions forever"

KITTY MEOW IS BACK!

[–] sunny3171 14 years ago

when they are at the copa and were performing pissed at david

when they got their first checks and otis bought his dad a new car and his mom a mink stole

[–] queencity86 13 years ago

Idk if the real Otis can sing, never heard him sing, but the Charles Malik Whitfield (who played Otis in the movie) sang to Josephine when they were walking behind her home from school but he only sang like two words. Then in the Bathroom when he and Melvin first met Berry Gordy he was singing that song "Payco's kid".

[–] JEFJR 13 years ago

"Pecos Kid" is a cowboy reference, which explains Melvin's bang-bang gestures.

[–] jackiefoxybrown 11 years ago

Lo. Pecos Kids. Everytime me and my best friend would see that scene we would laugh,because we would think what the hell is this song? And the first time my mom saw that scene she thought Blue and Otis was going to "jump" Bery Gordy.lol.

[–] Gordon_Gartrelle 13 years ago

2. The scene in which David snatches the mic - for the past 5 years this has been my son's favorite sence.

2 - Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm David Ruffin and these are the Temptaions. (the faces on the ohter temptations.)

3.- Aint nobody come here to see you Otis.

I apologize for grammatical errors- a side effect of IMDbing on my iPhone.

[–] TeOfLeDiKi 12 years ago

It's been a long time since I saw this movie (when I saw it, I think it was a two-part miniseries), but my two absolute favorite scenes are

1) during Papa Was a Rolling Stone, the way the scenes are intercut and ending with the suicide in the car. POWERFUL.

2) the very final scene. Polished, professional, experienced - singing their signature song My Girl, then the camera cuts behind them and the floodlights light them up, and you see they're singing to a completely empty house - where they first got their big break. HAUNTING. It made me weep.

neat . . . sweet . . . petite