Colorful looking TV miniseries about the life and times of the Motown super group known as the Temptations, arguably the greatest group to have come out of the Motown era, specifically focusing on the "Classic 5" line up: Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams (no relation to Otis) who, at the peak of their popularity, could win over any audience. But fame & fortune came at a price, as each of these five young men would learn the hard way. And when push came to shove, when the pressure of living in the spotlight got to be too much, tempers flared, egos clashed, giving rise to rivalries that threatened to destroy the group. Throughout it all, from tragedy to triumph - and there was plenty of both - these gifted singers still forged one of the greatest musical legacies the world has ever known.
Adapted from the autobiography by Otis Williams, the group's De facto leader and the only surviving founding member, the film comes from his perspective and focuses a great deal on him and his best friend, the group's bass singer Melvin Franklin. So naturally, we are probably meant to sympathize with him most and Melvin (let's face, nobody sees themselves as a bad person and even when admitting their faults, they'll only make themselves out to be so bad). The once lovably laid back and very funny David Ruffin is predictably portrayed in an unflattering light once his ego inflates to paramount proportions after fame goes to his head, which understandably upsets his family and relatives to the point that they sued Otis Williams and the film's production company, because lets face it, no one likes to see their son/brother/father/grandfather/uncle portrayed in such a way, regardless of what his personal habits may have been. Hell, David Ruffin is more or less the poster child for how fame/success can ruin a man, and his own life became so wrought with problems (ranging from ego management to the painful cocaine addiction that eventually destroyed him) that you could probably make an entire film focused solely on him. It really is a shame that the real Ruffin wasted what little time he was going to have with his ego and personal problems getting in the way of his career, because he was a great singer and a great showman. Also sad to see is the tragic fate that befell Paul Williams, who's alcoholism (brought on in part by sickle cell anemia, which the film fails to mention) also got in the way of both his career and his life, which came to an end at 34 (Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin and Melvin Franklin all made to at least 50).
The film does not really give much focus to Dennis Edwards, the large, powerfully built Contours singer who replaced David Ruffin as the group's lead singer in the late 1960s, leading them through the psychedelic, funk and disco periods, and little is said of the problems that later arose between him and Otis Williams, though they do give screen time to his anger over being asked to sing the first verse of "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", since his own father died really died on the 3rd of September.
Naturally, there are liberties taken to fit the running time. Perhaps the most offensive liberty taking concerns the death of Melvin Franklin - in the film Melvin is shown dying while visiting his mother with Otis, when in reality Melvin died in a hospital after slipping into a coma. This was reportedly done because the miniseries was put together not long after Melvin had died and it was just too personal for them to really face. Another inaccuracy is that Dennis Edwards is shown touring with Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin before the group' reunion tour in the early 1980s, when in reality he didn't start touring with them until after the group was inducted into the rock & roll hall of fame in the late 80s. On top of that, Kendricks and Ruffin didn't start touring together until after the reunion tour. How many other liberties are taken is anyone's guess, though the film remains entertaining and still gives an overall general overview of the group's history while also serving to showcase the group's music to a new generation.
Adapted from the autobiography by Otis Williams, the group's De facto leader and the only surviving founding member, the film comes from his perspective and focuses a great deal on him and his best friend, the group's bass singer Melvin Franklin. So naturally, we are probably meant to sympathize with him most and Melvin (let's face, nobody sees themselves as a bad person and even when admitting their faults, they'll only make themselves out to be so bad). The once lovably laid back and very funny David Ruffin is predictably portrayed in an unflattering light once his ego inflates to paramount proportions after fame goes to his head, which understandably upsets his family and relatives to the point that they sued Otis Williams and the film's production company, because lets face it, no one likes to see their son/brother/father/grandfather/uncle portrayed in such a way, regardless of what his personal habits may have been. Hell, David Ruffin is more or less the poster child for how fame/success can ruin a man, and his own life became so wrought with problems (ranging from ego management to the painful cocaine addiction that eventually destroyed him) that you could probably make an entire film focused solely on him. It really is a shame that the real Ruffin wasted what little time he was going to have with his ego and personal problems getting in the way of his career, because he was a great singer and a great showman. Also sad to see is the tragic fate that befell Paul Williams, who's alcoholism (brought on in part by sickle cell anemia, which the film fails to mention) also got in the way of both his career and his life, which came to an end at 34 (Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin and Melvin Franklin all made to at least 50).
The film does not really give much focus to Dennis Edwards, the large, powerfully built Contours singer who replaced David Ruffin as the group's lead singer in the late 1960s, leading them through the psychedelic, funk and disco periods, and little is said of the problems that later arose between him and Otis Williams, though they do give screen time to his anger over being asked to sing the first verse of "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", since his own father died really died on the 3rd of September.
Naturally, there are liberties taken to fit the running time. Perhaps the most offensive liberty taking concerns the death of Melvin Franklin - in the film Melvin is shown dying while visiting his mother with Otis, when in reality Melvin died in a hospital after slipping into a coma. This was reportedly done because the miniseries was put together not long after Melvin had died and it was just too personal for them to really face. Another inaccuracy is that Dennis Edwards is shown touring with Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin before the group' reunion tour in the early 1980s, when in reality he didn't start touring with them until after the group was inducted into the rock & roll hall of fame in the late 80s. On top of that, Kendricks and Ruffin didn't start touring together until after the reunion tour. How many other liberties are taken is anyone's guess, though the film remains entertaining and still gives an overall general overview of the group's history while also serving to showcase the group's music to a new generation.