Soul Food
Directed by	George Tillman, Jr.
Produced by	Tracey Edmonds Robert Teitel
Written by	George Tillman, Jr.
Starring	Vanessa L. Williams Vivica A. Fox Nia Long Michael Beach Mekhi Phifer Brandon Hammond and Irma P. Hall
Distributed by	Fox 2000 Pictures
Release date	September 26, 1997
Running time	114 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$7.5 million (est)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

For the type of cuisine, see soul food.

For the television series based upon this film, see Soul Food: The Series.

Soul Food is a 1997 film, produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Tracey Edmonds, and Robert Teitel, and released by Fox 2000 Pictures. It stars Vanessa L. Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer, Irma P. Hall, and Brandon Hammond. Written and directed by George Tillman, Jr. (his major studio debut), the film centers on the trials of an extended African-American family, held together by longstanding family traditions which begin to fade as serious problems take center stage. Tillman based the family in the film on his own, and Soul Food was widely acclaimed for presenting a more positive image of African-Americans than is typically seen in Hollywood films. Image File history File links Soul-food-1997. ... George Tillman, Jr. ... Tracie Spencer on the cover of her 1988 debut album. ... Robert Teitel is an American film producer. ... Vanessa Lynn Williams This article is about Vanessa Williams the actress and singer, for the actress on Melrose Place see Vanessa Williams (actress). ... Vivica A. Fox in Ella Enchanted (2004) Vivica Anjanetta Fox (born July 30, 1964 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an African-American film and television actress. ... Long in the film In Too Deep Nia Long (born Nitara Carlynn Long on October 30, 1970 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actress. ... Michael Beach (born October 30, 1962) is an African-American actor of Cape Verdean descent. ... Mehki Phifer was born December 29, 1974 in Harlem, New York. ... Brandon Hammond (born February 6, 1984) is a former American child actor who appeared in a string of high profile projects in the 1990s. ... Irma P. Hall (born Irma Dolores Player Hall on June 3, 1935 in Beaumont, Texas) is an American character actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows since the 1970s. ... Fox Plaza, the company headquarters. ... September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 96 days remaining. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the type of cuisine, see soul food. ... This is a list of film-related events in 1997. ... Film refers to the celluloid medium on which motion pictures are printed. ... Kenneth Brian Babyface Edmonds (born April 10, 1958 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is a successful African American R&B and pop singer, songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist, record producer, film producer, and entreprenuer. ... Tracie Spencer on the cover of her 1988 debut album. ... Robert Teitel is an American film producer. ... Fox Plaza, the company headquarters. ... Vanessa Lynn Williams This article is about Vanessa Williams the actress and singer, for the actress on Melrose Place see Vanessa Williams (actress). ... Vivica A. Fox in Ella Enchanted (2004) Vivica Anjanetta Fox (born July 30, 1964 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an African-American film and television actress. ... Long in the film In Too Deep Nia Long (born Nitara Carlynn Long on October 30, 1970 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actress. ... Michael Beach (born October 30, 1962) is an African-American actor of Cape Verdean descent. ... Mehki Phifer was born December 29, 1974 in Harlem, New York. ... Irma P. Hall (born Irma Dolores Player Hall on June 3, 1935 in Beaumont, Texas) is an American character actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows since the 1970s. ... Brandon Hammond (born February 6, 1984) is a former American child actor who appeared in a string of high profile projects in the 1990s. ... Screenwriters, scenarists or script writers, are authors who write the screenplays from which movies and television programs are made. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... George Tillman, Jr. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... ...

Film information

Synopsis

Set in Chicago, Illinois, Soul Food, told through the eyes of 11-year-old Ahmad (Hammond), follows the trials of the Joseph family, a close-knit African American family that gets together to have Sunday dinner together every week, with plenty of soul food to go around. Mother Joseph (Hall) has three daughters, who each have had varying success in life: oldest daughter Teri (Williams) has suffered relationship problems ever since her younger sister Maxine (Fox) stole and married Teri's old boyfriend, Kenny. Teri's current husband, Miles (Beach), desires to follow his dreams of being an R&B musician. Youngest Joseph daughter Robin (Long)--nicknamed "Bird"--has just opened a barbershop/beauty parlor, and the family is uneasy about her marriage to Lem (Phifer), an ex-convict. Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... For the type of cuisine, see soul food. ... Rhythm and blues (or R & B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. ... Boy Meets Barber For other uses, see Barber (disambiguation). ... A beauty salon is a place where people go to receive beauty treatments, and purchase beauty products. ...

These problems are complicated when Mother Joe, the glue that holds the family together, suffers a debilitating stroke during an operation to amputate her leg (since she was a diabetic) and slips into a coma. Without her guidance, the family begins to fall apart. Teri takes in her troubled cousin Faith (Gina Rivera), who begins flirting with Miles. As an ex-con, Lem cannot find a job, so Bird makes an uneasy deal with her ex-boyfriend Simuel St. James (Mel Jackson) to get Lem a job, but, a series of events eventually land him in prison again . By contrast, Kenny and Maxine are reasonably stable, and expecting their third child. Ahmad, Kenny and Maxine's oldest child, is worried about the state of his extended family, and conspires to find a way to bring them all back together. For other uses, see Stroke (disambiguation). ... In medicine, a coma (from the Greek koma, meaning deep sleep) is a profound state of unconsciousness. ... Mel Jackson (born on October 13, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois, USA) is an African-American actor and R&B musician. ...

Release and reaction

Soul Food spawned a popular television series on the Showtime cable network.

The film was a box-office hit, earning over $70 million during its original theatrical run, and out-performing the much-lauded action-thriller The Peacemaker. Image File history File links Soul-food-tv. ... Image File history File links Soul-food-tv. ... Showtime is a subscription television brand used by a number of channels and platforms around the world, but primarily refers to a group of channels in the United States. ... The Peacemaker is a 1997 thriller and action movie starring George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. ...

Williams won an Image Award for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture"; Fox was also nominated for the award. Hammond won an Image Award for "Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress", and Irma P. Hall won for "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture". The NAACP Image Award is an award presented annually by the NAACP to honor the top African-Americans in film, television, music and literature. ...

In 2006, "The Itis" episode of The Boondocks featured an extended criticism of the movie, in which main character (and frequent mouthpiece for creator Aaron McGruder) Huey accuses the film of actually being a negative representation of and influence on the African American community. Huey points out that the family's bonding tradition, the consumption of soul food, served to destroy the family's health and eventually led to Mother Joe not only losing one of her limbs but also dying. Huey further went on to note that, even though Mother Joe's amputation and death could most likely have been avoided through a healthier diet, the ending of the movie features the main characters indulging in a feast of the very same foods that probably killed Mother Joe, setting themselves up for the same fate. 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Boondocks is an American animated television series produced for Cartoon Networks Adult Swim programming block, based on the comic strip of the same name. ... Aaron McGruder (born May 29, 1974 in Chicago, Illinois) is an African American cartoonist best known for writing and drawing The Boondocks, a Universal Press Syndicate comic strip about two young African-American brothers from inner-city Chicago now living with their grandfather in a sedate suburb. ...

Spinoff

Soul Food spawned a follow-up cable television show on the Showtime network. Soul Food: The Series aired from 2000 through 2004 on Showtime, and it currently airs in reruns on BET. Coaxial cable is often used to transmit cable television into the house. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... Showtime is a subscription television brand used by a number of channels and platforms around the world, but primarily refers to a group of channels in the United States. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Black Entertainment Television is an American cable network targeted toward African-American audiences in the United States. ...

Trivia

• Soul Food's theme song is "A Song for Mama", written and produced by Babyface and performed by Boyz II Men. Released as a single, "A Song for Mama" became a Top 10 hit in 1997 and is today a popular selection for vocal harmony groups. Another Soul Food single, Dru Hill's "We're Not Making Love No More" (also written and produced by Babyface) was a Top 20 hit the same year, as was Total's "What About Us", written and produced by Timbaland and Missy Elliott.

• Miles plays keyboards in an R&B group called "Milestone"; the vocalists of the group are portrayed by two brother teams of professional R&B performers: K-Ci Hailey and Jo-Jo Hailey (of K-Ci & Jo-Jo and Jodeci); and Babyface and his older brothers Kevon Edmonds and Melvin Edmonds (both of After 7). Actor Malik Yoba of New York Undercover fame makes a brief cameo as their studio engineer. Milestone's song "I Care About You" was written and produced by Babyface, and released as a single.

• Mekhi Phifer, who portrays Lem, is the former husband of Malinda Williams, who portrays Lem's wife Bird in Soul Food: The Series.

• Filming locations include Chicago and Oak Park, Illinois, USA.

Boyz II Men is an American R&B/soul singing group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... Dru Hill was an American singing group, most popular during the late 1990s, whose repertoire included R&B, soul, and gospel music. ... Total was an American R&B/New Jill Swing female trio, active from 1994 to 2000. ... Timbaland Timbaland (born Timothy Z. Mosley in Norfolk, Virginia on March 10, 1971) is an American hip hop and R&B record producer and rapper whose style influenced both genres, even helping to blur the distinction between the two. ... Missy Elliott (born Melissa Arnette Elliott on July 1, 1971) is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. ... K-Ci (born Cedric Hailey on September 2, 1969 in Charlotte, North Carolina) is an African-American R&B/soul singer and songwriter, one-half of the duo K-Ci and JoJo and one-quarter of the R&B quartet Jodeci. ... JoJo (born Joel Hailey on June 10, 1971 in Charlotte, North Carolina) is an African-American R&B/soul singer, songwriter, and record producer; one-half of the duo K-Ci and JoJo and one-quarter of the R&B quartet Jodeci. ... K-Ci and JoJo is an American R&B duo, comprised of brothers Cedric K-Ci Hailey and Joel Jo-Jo Hailey. ... Jodeci was an American musical group, active from 1990 to 1996, whose repertoire included R&B, soul music, and new jack swing. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... After 7 was a R&B group, founded in 1988 by brothers Melvin and Kevon Edmonds and David Mitchell. ... After 7 is a hip-hop and urban band, founded in 1988 by brothers Melvin and Kevon Edmonds and David Mitchell. ... Malik Yoba (born September 17, 1967 in The Bronx, New York) is an African American actor. ... New York Undercover was a one-hour urban police drama, which ran on the FOX network from 1994 to 1998. ... Mehki Phifer was born December 29, 1974 in Harlem, New York. ... Malinda Williams, is an American actress (born on December 3, 1975 in Elizabeth, New Jersey). ... Wrights home in Oak Park, Illinois Lake Theater and shops along Lake Street. ...

External links

• Soul Food at the Internet Movie Database
• Soul Food (TV series) at the Internet Movie Database