Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Young man pursues older woman for love; mature themes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Terry McMillan Presents: Tempted by Love
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
As TERRY MCMILLAN PRESENTS: TEMPTED BY LOVE begins, 50-something Ava (Garcelle Beauvais) has been a Michelin-star chef in Belgium for many years. She parts ways with the owner of her restaurant and it's a perfect time to return home to Beaufort, Ga., to visit her beloved Aunt Judy (Donna Biscoe), who has broken her arm. She meets 30-year-old Luke (Vaughn W. Hebron), a handsome young go-getter who immediately pursues her romantically. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and worried she may never be able to work again in her profession, she feels old. The age difference worries her and she resists his overtures. Once they are together, their relationship deepens. Will they make their relationship work despite the age difference?
Is It Any Good?
It's always a beautiful thing to watch two intelligent, thoughtful people negotiate the challenges of life, and that's what's on the menu in Tempted by Love. Although the script isn't explicit, it does suggest how much more willingly society accepts an older-man-younger-woman scenario than the younger-man-older-woman coupling. Add Ava's rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis, and Luke is called upon to anticipate a life with Ava that will have complications.
But both of them are refreshingly honest about their hesitations and passion and manage to enjoy what they have the best they can. The wrap-up feels a bit rushed and what Ava is doing next also seems unspecified, but not enough to subtract from the thrust of the plot.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about some of the problems a couple with a large age difference between them might face.
Why do you think society generally judges couples negatively when they have large age differences between them? Are older women judged more harshly than older men?
How do you think the older person in such a couple will feel as they age together?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : August 17, 2024
- Cast : Garcelle Beauvais , Vaughn W. Hebron , Lela Rochon , Donna Biscoe
- Director : Tailiah Breon
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Director(s) , Black Movie Director(s) , African American Movie Director(s) , Female Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s) , African American Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Writer(s) , Black Movie Writer(s) , African American Movie Writer(s)
- Studios : Netflix , Lifetime Television
- Genre : Romance
- Run time : 88 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : February 9, 2026
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