DVD Review: Soul Men

Soul Men
Written by: Robert Ramsey & Matthew Stone
Directed By: Malcolm D. Lee
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac, Sharon Leal, Adam Herschman, Sean Hayes, Affion Crockett, Jennifer Coolidge, John Legend, and Isaac Hayes.

Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac unite on screen in the comedy Soul Men. The story revolves around two former soul singers who hate each other traveling across the country to perform at the Apollo Theater at a memorial for their recently deceased former band mate.

It's essentially a run of the mill road trip movie with Samuel Jackson and Bernie Mac bickering at each other for 2 hours. And it's hilarious.

The movie isn't by any means brilliant but it does have a lot of heart and a lot of laughs. I hadn't realized the movie was rated R so I was shocked by some of the content. The scene with Jennifer Coolidge is raunchy and extremely funny.

The movie gets a little melodramatic with the addition of Sharon Leal as the daughter of a woman both men had been in a relationship with. That's not to say she is bad in the film, she certainly isn't. Her character just adds a bit more drama between the two leads.

The cast is good for the most part. Sean Hayes seems a little out of place and doesn't really pull off a hardass record exec very well. That's almost irrelevant though because this show belongs to Jackson and Mac and the two of them are great here. Isaac Hayes makes his final film appearance in this movie which adds up to about 3 minutes of screen time.

I can see why some people gave the movie bad reviews. It's not breaking any new ground here. It is predictable and by the numbers but the laughs are a plenty (even if they are a little easy) and sometimes that's good enough.

The DVD includes a commentary with the director and writers, featurettes about the cast and director, tributes to Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes, behind the scenes footage, a theatrical trailer, and some glimpses of Bernie Mac doing some comedy at the Apollo between shots. It's a bittersweet few minutes of the brilliant comedian in action.

In the end, Soul Men provides a couple hours of easy escapism. It's a funny movie that isn't the greatest but it's saved from being awful by the hilarious performances from its two leads.

I'd pick it up and enjoy the laughs, if only to see one of Bernie Mac's last performances. Thankfully, it's a great one.

Soul Men is available on DVD and BluRay now.