''Soul Men'' is a 2008 American musical

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Malcolm D. Lee Malcolm D. Lee (born January 11, 1970) is an American filmmaker. He is known for directing numerous comedy films, including '' The Best Man'' (1999), ''Undercover Brother'' (2002), ''Roll Bounce'' (2005), ''Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins'' (2008), ...

, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac,

Sharon Leal Sharon Ann Leal is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles in movies such as ''Dreamgirls'', '' This Christmas'', '' Why Did I Get Married?'', ''Why Did I Get Married Too?'' and her roles on the television shows ''Legacy'', ''G ...

and Sean Hayes, released on November 7, 2008. It was one of three Bernie Mac films that were released after his death (and was actually released on the same date as another posthumous film, '' Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa''). Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes died in unrelated circumstances on August 9 and 10, 2008, respectively. Director Lee said the film was heavily re-edited to soften the tone of the film, as a tribute to the two actors. It is the last

Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...

film to be distributed by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

Plot

Two former backup

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

singers, Louis Hinds and Floyd Henderson, who have not spoken to each other in 30 years since their band ended, reluctantly agree to travel across the country together for a reunion concert to honor their recently deceased band member and lead singer, Marcus Hooks.

Cast

* Samuel L. Jackson as Louis Hinds * Bernie Mac as Floyd Henderson *

as Cleo Whitfield * Sean Hayes as Danny Epstein *

Affion Crockett Affion Crockett (born August 12, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. Early life Crockett was raised in Germany and Fayetteville, North Carolina. Career Crockett appeared in HBO's ''Def Comedy Jam'' in 1996, demonstrating his impression ...

as Lester "The Court Jester" *Adam Herschman as Phillip * Fatso-Fasano as Pay-Pay *

Jackie Long Jackie Long (born October 23, 1981) is an American television and film actor, writer, musician, director and producer. He is also a voice actor for ''Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Roc ...

as Zig-Zag * John Legend as Marcus Hooks * Jennifer Coolidge as Rosalee * Isaac Hayes as himself * Mike Epps as Duane Henderson * Millie Jackson as Floyd's ex Claudette *

Sara Erikson Sara Erikson is an American television and film actress. Career Erikson is known for her recurring role as Robyn Marquette, Vince's scheming ex-girlfriend and co-worker in '' What I Like About You'', and various characters in the Jeff Foxwort ...

as Chastity * Vanessa del Rio as Full Figured Neighbor * Randy Jackson as The Narrator (voice)

Production

Music

The score for the film was composed by Stanley Clarke. The song, "I'm Your Puppet" , which serves as the fictional trio's 1969 hit single, was actually a hit for James & Bobby Purify in 1966. The official soundtrack was released November 4, 2008 by Stax Records, and features music by John Legend, Isaac Hayes,

Sharon Jones Sharon Lafaye Jones (May 4, 1956 – November 18, 2016) was an American soul and funk singer. She was the lead singer of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, a soul and funk band based in Brooklyn, New York. Jones experienced breakthrough success ...

and the Dap Kings, and others.

Reception

''Soul Men'' received generally mixed reviews from film critics. Based on 98 reviews,

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

reported that 46% of critics gave the film a positive review stating that "''Soul Men'' features lively performances from Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson, and some hilarious moments, but ultimately suffers from an unoriginal script."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, another review aggregator, reported that critics gave the film an average score of 49/100, based on 23 reviews. The film opened at #6 with $5,000,000 behind '' Zack and Miri Make a Porno'', '' Changeling'', '' High School Musical 3: Senior Year'', '' Role Models'', and '' Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa'' (which, coincidentally, Mac was also in; both films are dedicated in his memory). At the conclusion of its domestic theatrical run on February 5, 2009, the film's gross was $12,082,391. Director Malcolm D. Lee said the movie was a failure because "nobody gave a shit about two old R&B singers."

Home media

The film was released on DVD on February 10, 2009 and by the 5th week, about 483,360 units have been sold, bringing in $9,443,721 in revenue. This does not include

Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

sales.

References

External links

* * * {{Malcolm D. Lee 2008 films 2000s musical comedy films American musical comedy films Dimension Films films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films The Weinstein Company films 2000s English-language films Films scored by Stanley Clarke Films about singers Films directed by Malcolm D. Lee Films set in Manhattan Films set in Memphis, Tennessee Films set in 2008 2000s road movies American road movies African-American films 2008 comedy films 2000s American films