Review: Soul Men

Two 70s soul back-up singers (Played by the late Bernie Mac and the great Samuel L. Jackson) are asked to reunite to perform at a memorial concert for their recently deceased superstar lead singer (musician John Legend) at the famous Apollo Theatre. The problem? The duo are washed up...oh, and they violently hate one another. Mac has become a shonky car wash owner (specialising in free ‘rim jobs’), whilst ex-con Jackson is now a mechanic who wants nothing to do with Mac or the music industry. So naturally when Mac comes calling at his apartment, he’s very happy to see him (a punch to the jaw ‘happy’). But eventually Mac and Jackson put aside their...well actually, they don’t, but they end up agreeing to do the concert at least. So they drive from California to New York (Jackson will not fly), doing the occasional warm-up gig, and slowly but surely getting their old chemistry back. Sean Hayes plays the a-hole promoter, Jennifer Coolidge plays a busty MILF (her stock and trade) whom provides an hilariously gross sex scene with Mac. Adam Herschman turns up as the meek intern assigned to shepherd the duo to the concert. Sharon Leal plays the daughter of an old friend of the duo. Soul legend (and Black Moses) Isaac Hayes turns up as himself to add a little authenticity to proceedings.

I’m not sure if it was the pall hanging over the film due to the death of two of its stars, or if critics and audiences were turned off by its rather tired plotting, but this 2008 Malcolm D. Lee (the slightly underrated “Undercover Brother”) road movie/comedy-drama (sort of “Dreamgirls” meets “The Sunshine Boys” if scripted by Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor) got a bad rap from many critics and failed to win over audiences. Aside from its plotting, and one or two then-unforeseen lapses in bad taste (i.e. The spectre of death hangs over the film’s fictional plot as well as its real-life aftermath), I had a really good time with it. I like the era of music, the two stars are clearly having fun (Mac, in my view, was never better), and there’s just something priceless about having two middle-aged men loudly calling each other ‘motherfucker’. Sorry, it’s funny, it just is. And this film indeed is sometimes very funny (I know it’s juvenile, but Mac’s car sales pitch is genius), a lot more so than I was expecting (same goes for the profanity, these sorts of flicks don’t tend to ratchet up too many swear words).

Soul legend Hayes (whose passing I was much more affected by than Mac’s, I must say) has a nice small part as himself, and Leal in addition to being super-hot, can sing (she was in “Dreamgirls” as the replacement singer, and upstaged everyone except Jennifer Hudson, IMHO). But it’s Mac and Jackson (both of whom have made ‘angry black man’ their stock and trade, so when they are paired together, it’s an amusingly aggressive combo) who really sell this simple, formulaic film, and the fact that they can’t sing terribly well (they’re not tone deaf, but still...) not only provides much of the humour (their first tryout gig is “Spinal Tap” hilarity as they barely make their way through ‘Hold On, I’m Comin’’- co-written by Ike Hayes himself), but just goes to show that the Pips ain’t nothin’ without Gladys Knight, ditto Lionel Richie and The Commodores (Singer John Legend, btw, is clearly playing a blend of Ritchie and Marvin Gaye and doing it well). I have to say I could’ve done without the subplot involving a wannabe gangsta thug, but that’s a minor issue in an otherwise fun film.

People who aren’t interested in the stars or the music might find it a bit tiresome, but for me, Mac and Jackson give this formula film a nice edge and some big laughs. Screenplay by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone (the men behind the average comedies “Destiny Turns on the Radio” and “Man of the House”, with Tommy Lee Jones).

Rating: B-