Soul Men

Soul Men

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee
Produced by David T. Friendly
Charles Castaldi
Steve Greener
Written by Robert Ramsey
Matthew Stone
Starring Samuel L. Jackson
Bernie Mac
Sharon Leal
Sean Hayes
Jennifer Coolidge
Adam Herschman
Affion Crockett
Mike Epps
Isaac Hayes
John Legend
Vanessa del Rio
Narrated by Randy Jackson
Music by Stanley Clarke
Cinematography Matthew F. Leonetti
Edited by William Henry
Paul Millspaugh
Production
company
Distributed by Dimension Films
Release date
  • November 7, 2008 (2008-11-07)
Running time
 100 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $40 million
Box office $12,331,637[1]

Soul Men is an American musical comedy film directed by Malcolm D. Lee, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac, Sharon Leal and Sean Hayes, released on November 7, 2008. This was the first of three Bernie Mac films which were released after his death; he died on August 9, 2008.

Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes died in unrelated circumstances on August 9 and 10, 2008, respectively.[2] Director Lee said the film was heavily re-edited to soften the tone of the film, as a tribute to the two actors.

Plot

Two former backup soul singers, Louis Hinds (Samuel L. Jackson) and Floyd Henderson (Bernie Mac), who have not spoken to each other in 30 years, reluctantly agree to travel across the country together to a reunion concert to honor their recently deceased lead singer, Marcus Hooks (John Legend). Cleo (Sharon Leal), a beautiful young woman in an abusive relationship, accompanies them as a new singer; she is believed to be Floyd's daughter but is really Louis's. A few problems come their way, involving Cleo's wanna-be gangsta rapper boyfriend, Lester (Affion Crockett), Floyd's fling with Rosalee (Jennifer Coolidge), and a lot more, leading up to their big performance at the Apollo Theater. The duo reform a bond that they lost 30 years ago.


Cast

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 and the Dap Kings, and others.[3]

Reception

Bernie Mac on the set of the film in March 2008
Jackson and Mac with Gabe Witcher prerecording songs for the film in December 2007

Soul Men received generally mixed reviews from film critics. Based on 98 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes reported that 45% 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.[4] Metacritic, another review aggretator, reported that critics gave the film an average score of 49/100, based on 23 reviews.[5]

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 Bernie Mac was also in).[6] At the conclusion of its domestic theatrical run on February 5, 2009, the film's gross was $12,082,391, which makes the film a flop.

DVD sales

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 sales.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Soul Men". Box Office Mojo.
  2. ↑ "Isaac Hayes and Bernie Mac star in new film". NME.com. 2008-08-11.
  3. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Men-Original-Soundtrack/dp/B001DZLAXM
  4. ↑ "Soul Men Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  5. ↑ "Soul Men(2008):Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  6. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results from 11/7 - 11/9". Box Office Mojo. 2008-11-09. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
  7. ↑ "Soul Men". The Numbers. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
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