Soul Food (1997)
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80% of critics liked it
(41 reviews) -
84% of users liked it
(20,441 ratings)
This hit domestic comedy-drama concerned the fortunes of an extended African-American family recalled through the eyes of young narrator Ahmad (Brandon Hammond). Ahmad's world revolves around his grandmother, Big Mama Joseph (Irma P. Hall) and her three daughters: workaholic attorney Teri… More This hit domestic comedy-drama concerned the fortunes of an extended African-American family recalled through the eyes of young narrator Ahmad (Brandon Hammond). Ahmad's world revolves around his grandmother, Big Mama Joseph (Irma P. Hall) and her three daughters: workaholic attorney Teri (Vanessa Williams), newlywed salon owner Bird (Nia Long), and Ahmad's housewife mom, Maxine (Vivica A. Fox). Each sister is in turmoil. Teri has lost patience for her husband Miles (Michael Beach), who wants to quit the law and take up music. Bird doesn't realize that her husband Lem (Mekhi Phifer) is about to be humiliated by her ex-boyfriend (Mel Jackson). And while Maxine's relationship with her husband Kenny (Jeffrey D. Sams) is going well, her relationship with her jealous sister Teri needs fixing. These conflicts boil over at Big Mama's traditional Sunday dinners, where the matriarch plays peacemaker. The ritual faces extinction, however, when Big Mama suffers a stroke -- but Ahmad is waiting in the wings to take her place. Soul Food launched the directing career of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native George Tillman, Jr., who based the script on his own family experiences. In the summer of 2000, Soul Food was spun off into a cable TV series. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Directed By
- George Tillman Jr.
- Written By
- George Tillman
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy
R,
- In Theaters
- Sep 26, 1997 Wide
- Studio
- 20th Century Fox
Critic Reviews
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Paul Tatara, CNN.com
An overt desire to please often leaves Tillman relying on force-feeding techniques.
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Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
Soul Food aims to be a banquet of feelings, but mostly it serves up tripe.
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Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
The steaming platters of fried catfish, macaroni and cheese, sweet corn bread, and black-eyed peas that appear early and often in writer-director George Tillman Jr.'s sentimental family drama should be listed in the credits as costars.
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Godfrey Cheshire, Variety
Soul Food serves up family melodrama-cum-comedy that's tasty and satisfying, if not particularly profound or original.
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Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader
Tillman is tremendously skilled at bridging the vast shifts in tone.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Vanessa L. Williams
as Teri
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Vivica A. Fox
as Maxine
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Nia Long
as Bird
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Michael Beach
as Miles
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Mekhi Phifer
as Lem
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Brandon Hammond
as Ahmad
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Jeffrey D. Sams
as Kenny
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Gina Ravera
as Faith
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Irma P. Hall
as Mother Joe
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Carl Wright
as Reverend Williams
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Mel Jackson
as Simuel
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Morgan Mechelle Smith
as Kelly
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John M. Watson Sr.
as Uncle Pete
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Malik Yoba
as Studio Engineer
