Michael Jackson Died

I went to see this movie with an African American friend. When he told me about the movie I figured I might not be able to relate, because it was about an African American family. And, in this society we all sometimes get caught up in our differences as opposed to what makes us so much alike. By the end of this movie, I felt like I had just seen the best family movie that I had ever seen. Regardless of the ethnic make-up of the family. Soul Food as certainly more than a movie about an African American family. It is a movie about strong family values and how those values are challenged by tragedy, jobs, deciet, miscommunication and betrayal. This movie depicts how a family can overcome all of those obstacles and maintain the most important value of them all... love for family.

As I further thought about what I had seen, I realized how rare we see movies of this nature featuring African Americans. I also realized how sad it is that most non-African Americans won't go to see this movie for that reason alone. If they only knew how much they missed.

In addition to being hungry following this movie, I also felt a warm spirit come over me. And, I also realized that black or white, family values are pretty much the same. Finally, I realized just how much I miss sitting down with my family over dinner. So, the following Sunday, my wife and I gathered our children, their grandparents and a few family friends and we had the best dinner I've experienced in a long time. We've now made this a tradition. Now if I and my wife can learn to cook the way they did in Soul Food....

I can watch this movie all day long.. this movie reminds me so much of my family when i was coming up the sunday dinners, just being around each other , the sibling riviarly i can most defintely relate to.. this a breath of fresh air from the normal hood type movies.. yes that is a part of life but it just a portion of life .. Good to see us as african american people seein an another light .. Hats off to Producers, Directors, Writers .. Love the soundtrack also !

The family in this movie is head by "Big Mama" (don't even think about the recent Martin Lawrence farce "Big Momma's House"), a larger than life weathered woman who keeps the family going with her straight-shooting wisdom and hearty Sunday dinners. Vanessa Williams, who plays the oldest sister, is a wealthy attorney who constantly annoys her two sisters with her snobbery. She is involved in a crumbling marriage, which eventually turns adulterous. Vivica Fox plays the middle sister, a woman who is a devoted wife and mother. Nia Long plays the youngest sister, a newlywed to a small-time crook. Big Mama's death sends the family into a tailspin, all of a sudden the glue holding the sisters together is gone, and they have to laugh, cry, love, and fight their way into finding out how to hold it together themselves. Touching and so true.

This movie is something everyone can relate to in some way no matter what race you are. Watching this reminded me of my own family. The three sisters also reminded me of my family. The rich child, child with kids and the young one who still is coming up. The grandson reminded me of myself when I was younger. This movie is about the ups and downs of life and how a family sticks together no matter what hard times come around. It shows how one person(the grandmother) had such a strong power over everybody by keeping them together. I guess the big dinners was all part of it because thats when everyone used to get together. Buying this will not leave you in doubt about wasting your money because the story is tight from beginning to end. So far this is the best movie (and soundtrack) to drop from babyface. If your not sure..trust me when I say this is something u just want to have if you like collecting movies and even if you don't.

get it!

This is one of the best movies featuring black characters I've ever seen. It was refreshing to see a movie that wasn't glorifying violence, but focusing on the triumphs and tragedies of one family...I saw some of the situations presented in "Soul Food" so much like my own family. I identified most with the Vanessa Williams character. Everyone should see this movie, no matter what their race. It will make you laugh, make you cry...it's that type of movie. GET IT.

I have cerebral palsy, and for the last few months I have had my first African American aide. He laughs at me because nearly all of the films in my collecttion are dark, violent, and depressing. So, he made me watch "Soul Food" and the best part of the movie is the insight it brought to me with regard to his cooking. (I have hardly been to a restaurant since his arrival.) I know nothing about cooking, and that is probably a good thing because he says he wouldn't share his his "secrets" anyway. Though I HAVE noticed that he has NEVER, EVER used a measuring cup. (something that is reflected in this film.) Also, before he came I avoided green beans like the plague. (I'm sure many a Black person has knowingly mocked the rubbery, limp, God-awful things we White people call green beans. White children drench these abominations in ketchup and even then have to be forced to eat them a gunpoint...) However, there is a scene in "Soul Food" in which a child excitedly recites the menu that includes green beans with his smile intact, and there is not a ketchup bottle in sight. (I now have "string beans" with every meal.) I feel free to include these things in a review because it seesms to me that "Soul Food" is largely true to it's title, the movie is ABOUT THE FOOD and it's apparently unifying power, it's also about the kind of food we deprived and deathly bland White Northern dwellers have been missing. (My aide has informed me that a select group of White Southerners have been made honorary initiates into the art.) So, if there are any people out there who have stumbled upon a sampling of Soul Food and are wondering how it's done, this movie will give you a precious glimpse.....

This movie was so poetic and to the heart talking about how family sticks together through the ups and downs. The movie had me in tears and I loved the togetherness of family during Sunday dinner. But the overall matter of the movie is family will press on no matter how hard and tough it seems, family sticks together.

Thank goodness someone made a good, warm-hearted film about a family--that's pretty much what I thought when I first saw "Soul Food" in the theater in 1997. Like many Americans, I was starved for a movie that didn't portray the American family as broken or malignant, which appears to be the Hollywood standard. "Soul Food" works primarily because it never loses sight of the importance of family, even as its members may bicker or transgress. The plot focuses on the lasting impact of the family matriarch--Big Mama (played wonderfully by Irma P. Hall)--whose kind heart and wise soul holds the family of mostly younger couples together, despite their foibles. When she passes away from complications due to diabetes, her daughters must overcome their differences to uphold the family traditions, best embodied by Sunday dinners that go beyond simple meals. The cast is generally superb, though Vivica Fox and Brandon Hammond (as grandson Ahmad, through whose eyes we are told the story), sometimes try too hard, making their characters border on caricature in a film that otherwise seems so lifelike. There is a subplot involving a hidden family fortune that also gets in the way--writer and director George Tillman, Jr., seems to want to jam as much into the story as possible when he really doesn't have to, as the main plot is interesting enough. These flaws are oddly more apparent on the small screen than they were on the big screen. Nonetheless, "Soul Food," despite its "R" rating, is an effective family film, one with a sense of authenticity that Hollywood seems to have mostly forgotten.

I throughly enjoyed this movie for many reasons though I was given this film as a gift rather than purchase it on Amazon.com. But I have only praises for this film's portrayal of African American families, no film can accurately portray anything but this film comes very close to authentic.

If you'll pardon the few adult situations and language, you have a pretty decent family movie though I wouldn't necessarily invite little kids along for the ride. The rivalry between the sisters particularly Williams and Fox kinda went unresolved I don't think they really made a mends at the end. And William's husband cheating on her with her half sister, maybe that was a bit unnecessary for the drama. But this a great film. Highly recommended.

This is not the best movie about Black people or the best movie about families, but it is real and poignant and engaging. I'm not embarrassed to say that I, a 51-year-old Black Man, wept twice during this movie.

People of all races and ages will find emotions and interactions that they can feel and understand: family ties, sibling rivalry, unconditional love, misdirected macho-ness, fear of change, need to feel connected, pulling together to save something of value-it's all here for your enjoyment. All families are not like this one, indeed very few probably are, and certainly NONE are as stunningly gorgeous as the men and women who play these roles, but all families will recognize the positive and negative dynamics that drive the actions of these people.

I think that I might be glad to have seen this movie in the emotional safety of my living room instead of the crowded loneliness of a cinema.