by CHRIS BARRY

You've got to wonder who in Hollywood keeps hiring noted has-been Cuba Gooding Jr. to star in purported comedies. The man just isn't funny. Never has been, never will be. Some might even suggest that Gooding's hackneyed double-takes, bug-eyed Nipsey Russell wannabe facial expressions, and overstated physical gestures are nothing less than anathema to decent comedy. If box office receipts for his latest string of critical blockbusters, Rat Race, Boat Trip and Snow Dogs are anything to go by, it appears I'm not alone in my disdain for the man's talent.

With The Fighting Temptations, Gooding can add another thoroughly useless piece of shit to his film repertoire. Here he plays a rogue loser hustler with a heart of gold, an NYC junior ad exec who's just been fired from his job for having forged his credentials. As it happens, that same day he also learns his aunt has died. So, broke and running from creditors, he heads back to his home town of Montecarlo, Georgia, for her funeral. Residing in this land of offensive black caricatures is his childhood girlfriend, Beyoncé Knowles (of Destiny's Child fame), who has recently been ex-communicated from the local church choir for her nocturnal activities as a sex-charged nightclub singer. Oh, but can she sing. So when the musically clueless Gooding learns he stands to inherit 150 grand if he can only lead his dead aunt's abysmally talentless choir in to the state gospel championships, he is damn keen to get her onboard again. But Beyoncé isn't impressed with Gooding's lyin', cheatin' ways, nor too thrilled about returning to the choir she was just expelled from. But guess what happens? She decides to give him a chance, they fall in love, and along with a cast of crazy yet lovable choir characters, they go on to compete in the state championship.

Sounds pretty clever, eh? Not to mention, original. With the exception of the occasional decent Beyoncé musical number, this flick is supremely terrible and will no doubt experience a similar fate to Gooding's other recent comedic gems. Unless you thought Sister Act 2 was one of the great cultural events of the age, stay clear of this loser.

The Fighting Temptations opens Friday, Sept. 19

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