An Exercise In Nonsense

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

This movie was excellent. Every nuance of racism, drug use, etc were depicted accurately for black performers during those times. For those who think that those things were over-exaggerated are probably reading history book versions (cleaned up no doubt) of the struggles of that era. Those things HAPPENED! Also, this movie was NOT about the Temptations, it was about the Dells. The Chittlin' circuit, dirty managers, in-fighting EXISTED. Baby Boomers GET this film, because we lived it-we didn't read about it. This movie is great. I highly recommend it. Young people, don't read about it, ask your parents, grandparents--they know the real deal.

The Five Heartbeats was a real, honest, remarkable film. It was packed with emotion. Well acted by all involved. A must see to appreciate! The portrayals on the members in the group were believable. It is my understanding that this is a story based upon the popular singing group, "The Dells". I don't know how true it is. I feel that Robert Townsend not only acted well in this film but, he did a fantastic job in directing it, too. To me, it's one of if not the best piece of work that he has done. I also enjoyed his film, "The Hollywood Shuffle" but the Five Heartbeats is my overall favorite. Kudos to Mr. Townsend for a job well done and may we say his greatest works are yet to come. Thank you Mr. Townsend and I hope to meet you one day!

This film was fun to watch except for a couple of things. First, the attempt to pretend as though White record producers wanted to substitute a White group in place of the Five Heartbeats was utterly retarded.Secondly, the attempt to pretend as if they were subject to racism when in fact Black music groups were a hugely popular in the '60's, is pathetic.The film traces a group which appears to be based upon the Dells. The group has its' highs and lows. You'll notice a number of cliches throughout the film. This causes the film to slow down in a number of places. The running time could have been shorter with better editing.My advice is watch the film but ignore the overt attempts to create racist feelings.

On almost all the comments everyone assumes this film is based on The Temptations. Which is a fair assumption given The Temps' lead singer David Ruffin had a serious drug problem,as did the 'Hearts in this film.This film is actually based on a group named The Dells. The Dells started recording in 1953 (as The El-Rays, and changed to the Dells in '55). They have atleast 3to4 dozen R&B hits in every decade from the 1950s to the 90s. Everything in the Film except for the lead singer being a drug addict is based on their experiences. As with most Hollywood films somethings were embelished for Dramatic effect. The Dells also sang just about every song the soundtrack. The theme song "A Heart Is A House For Love" was a #13 R&B in 1991. Happy to say the Dells are still performing and recording together after 51 years, with no personell changes since 1957. The Dells served as Technical advisors on the film, and at the end of the credits they show a picture of them and the Film is dedicated to them.