David Ruffin:
I'm the one sellin' the records. They're comin' to see me.
Otis Williams:
They're comin' to see the Temptations.
David Ruffin:
Ain't nobody comin' to see you, Otis! You wish you could work it the way I do, but you can't! Because there is only one David Ruffin. And without him, the Temps ain't nothin' but a group in SEARCH of a David Ruffin. Matter of fact, I been thinkin'. We should call the group David Ruffin And The Temptations. Yeah, that sound good to me. Y'all beggin' me not to leave you.
[sings]
David Ruffin:
"And I refuse to let you go." Yeah, David Ruffin And The Temptations. Whatcha think?
Otis Williams:
[stands up] That ain't never gonna happen.
Otis Williams:
[after David has jumped up on stage with the Temptations] David, are you out of your damn mind? I will whoop your ass!
David Ruffin:
[after reading a memo firing him from the group] Y'all are stupid! You can't fire me! I made your asses! Do you hear me? DO YOU HEAR ME? You can't do me like this! You ungrateful son of a bitches!
David Ruffin:
I sang "My Girl", "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" and look what they did to me. Pretty soon, Paul's gonna be gone and that's your boy. Just wait till the next hit, they'll come after you next. You better quit while you still have some dignity, Corn.
Eddie Kendricks:
You don't know what you're talking about, Ruff.
David Ruffin:
You better leave before you get fired.
David Ruffin:
I'm back! I quit all that stuff, O.
Eddie Kendricks:
I told you he was clean.
Otis Williams:
I don't care!
David Ruffin:
[takes off his glasses] Look, I'm straight, man. Can't you see I'm straight?
Eddie Kendricks:
He's straight. Listen to him.
David Ruffin:
I'm back in the group, O. Tell me I'm back in the group.
Otis Williams:
You ain't in this group. Don't you get it? You blew it!
Eddie Kendricks:
The crowd went wild when he jumped on stage.
Otis Williams:
He's the one who blew it, Corn!
David Ruffin:
Paul... Corn... Blue, baby, all I'm asking y'all is for another chance. Come on now!
Melvin Franklin:
David, I'm sorry, but you got to go.
Otis Williams:
Get out or get carried out.
David Ruffin:
I ain't goin' nowhere! You said I was a Temp for life. How 'bout that promise, huh O?
Otis Williams:
You ain't no Temptation no more!
[Otis tries to beat up David, but Melvin holds him back]
[last lines]
Otis Williams:
Temptations... Forever
[Melvin is in the hospital after being shot by a carjacker who stole his car]
Melvin Franklin:
He shot me, then he recognized me, and then he kicked my butt out of MY car.
Otis Williams:
Was it Ruffin?
[they both laugh]
Melvin Franklin:
No, Ruffin would've killed me.
[During a concert break, Paul rushes off stage into the bathroom, coughs and throws up]
Shelly Berger:
That was a disaster.
Melvin Franklin:
Yeah, Shelly, we know. All right?
Shelly Berger:
The next set's in 45 minutes. There's no way he'll be ready.
Eddie Kendricks:
He'll be ready.
Shelly Berger:
Falling down drunk doesn't get better in 45 minutes, Eddie. You know what we have to do, Otis...
Eddie Kendricks:
No! If Paul's not on that stage, I'm not on that stage.
Shelly Berger:
The Temptations are known for precision, Eddie. I don't know what that was, but that wasn't it.
Eddie Kendricks:
What's it to you, Shelley? You ain't up there.
Shelly Berger:
I might as well be. Mr. Gordy holds me responsible for everything that goes on out there.
Eddie Kendricks:
I'm responsible for Paul.
Shelly Berger:
Oh, yeah? Then where were you when he was getting plastered?
Eddie Kendricks:
I said it. I'm not going on without Paul
Otis Williams:
Oh yeah, not the same but nominated for a Grammy!
David Ruffin:
Ya'll ain't the same without me?
David Ruffin:
That's mine!
Otis Williams:
No, no. That ain't you on "Cloud Nine" now that's Dennis' voice!
Eddie Kendricks:
Makin' a big mistake, Otis.
Melvin Franklin:
[to Eddie] Ain't no one man bigger than this group. Now, you remember that.
Continuity: When The Temptations are singing at the New Year's party, Melvin Franklin's tie disappears between shots.
Anachronisms: When David and Flynn are riding in the car laughing, they pass an SUV.
Continuity: When Eddie and Paul are singing "Stay" and Eddie starts singing "Oh won't" in one shot his hand is on the microphone. Then it cuts to another shot for "you stay" and his hand is not on the microphone.
Continuity: When Otis gets off the bus and "Ooh, Baby, Baby", is playing, he eagerly gets out to find his wife, Josephine. His hair is permed, which had been discussed in an earlier scene at the beginning of the movie. But the next shot when he does find his wife, his hair is not permed.
Anachronisms: The beginning of the film is supposed to take place in 1958, yet the song played over the opening credits is "I Just Can't Help It" by Jackie Wilson, a record that was recorded and released in 1962.
Boom mike visible: When Johnnie Mae rips Otis Williams and the Distants off, Al's microphone is hanging out of his pants when they are all standing in the alley.
Continuity: When the Temptations are touring and performing at schools, many members of the audience are just shuffled between the first trip and the second trip a couple of years later and they are wearing the exact same clothes.
Factual errors: When Otis Williams & The Distants are recording "Come On", Al is singing the lead, when in actuality, the lead was sung by Richard Street, who would replace Paul Williams in The Temptations in 1971.
Continuity: In the opening concert scene the saxophone alternates between standing on the drum riser and the stage between shots.
Featured in
The 56th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1999) (TV)
- clips