Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! and The Fighting Temptations

Reviewed by EWAN McDONALD

Herald ratings * * *

Win A Date ... stars Kate Bosworth as Rosalee Futch, on the checkout clerk at the Piggly Wiggly store in Fraser's Bottom, West Virginia. The manager, Pete Monash (Topher Grace), loves her but is too shy to tell her.

Life changes when Rosalee wins a date with Tad Hamilton (Josh Duhamel), a movie star who has had a little PR trouble lately: speedin', drinkin', chasin' wimmin and litterin'. She has a wonderful time in LA — and the last thing she expects is that Tad will follow her home to Fraser's Bottom.

Well, you know how these things go: sometime very close to the end of the movie Rosalee will have to make a decision, and you probably think you already know what it will be ... but this is a formula rom-com that is nicely set up, well played, and just alittle off-centre.

The DVD's only — extra is 16 deleted scenes, several of which feature Paris Hilton, which the movie doesn't.

It would be easy to dismiss The Fighting Temptations as a musical vehicle designed to give Beyonce Knowles an easy ride in her first starring role. So we won't: it's a likeable movie with a lot of fine gospel music, and she comes across as a better performer (no, didn't say actor) than you might expect.

Cuba Gooding jnr stars as Darrin, an advertising exec who is sacked from his big job in NY. His Aunt Sally dies back in Montecarlo, Georgia, and leaves him $150,000 on condition he takes over her church choir and takes it to the big Gospel Explosion contest.

Cue the small-town in-fighting, led by Paulina, the church treasurer (LaTanya Richardson, who is Mrs Samuel L. Jackson), who ran Darrin and his mom out of town 20 years ago because she sang in a bar as well as the choir.

Cue the love interest, which you've already figured is Lilly (Knowles), Darrin's girlfriend when they were in short pants (oh, that's right, she still is), who is the only talent in a choir that can't hold a tune.

The DVD is way, way better than the movie, for great performances from folks like the O'Jays.

Unfortunately there is a whole bunch of not-very-good stuff when the music isn't playing, but that's why the good lord gave us remotes.

DVD, video rental September 15