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Soul Food

  • 1997
  • R
  • 1h 55m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
9.5K
YOUR RATING
Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Mekhi Phifer, Vanessa Williams, Michael Beach, Irma P. Hall, Brandon Hammond, and Jeffrey D. Sams in Soul Food (1997)
Trailer
Play trailer0:32
1 Video
42 Photos
ComedyDrama

One person can keep a family together and, when that one person is gone, a family can be torn apart.One person can keep a family together and, when that one person is gone, a family can be torn apart.One person can keep a family together and, when that one person is gone, a family can be torn apart.

  • Director
    • George Tillman Jr.
  • Writer
    • George Tillman Jr.
  • Stars
    • Vanessa Williams
    • Vivica A. Fox
    • Nia Long
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    9.5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • George Tillman Jr.
    • Writer
      • George Tillman Jr.
    • Stars
      • Vanessa Williams
      • Vivica A. Fox
      • Nia Long
    • 44User reviews
    • 34Critic reviews
    • 70Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 6 wins & 11 nominations total

    Videos1

    Soul Food
    Trailer 0:32
    Soul Food

    Photos42

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    Top cast45

    Edit
    Vanessa Williams
    Vanessa Williams
    • Teri
    • (as Vanessa L. Williams)
    Vivica A. Fox
    Vivica A. Fox
    • Maxine
    Nia Long
    Nia Long
    • Bird
    Michael Beach
    Michael Beach
    • Miles
    Mekhi Phifer
    Mekhi Phifer
    • Lem
    Brandon Hammond
    Brandon Hammond
    • Ahmad
    Jeffrey D. Sams
    Jeffrey D. Sams
    • Kenny
    Gina Ravera
    Gina Ravera
    • Faith
    Irma P. Hall
    Irma P. Hall
    • Mother Joe
    Carl Wright
    Carl Wright
    • Reverend Williams
    Mel Jackson
    Mel Jackson
    • Simuel
    Morgan Méchelle Smith
    Morgan Méchelle Smith
    • Kelly
    John M. Watson Sr.
    • Uncle Pete
    M.T. Alexander
    • Jada
    Lawrence Petty
    Lawrence Petty
    • Harome
    Marcia Wright
    Marcia Wright
    • Nicole
    Bernard Mixon
    • Dr. Benson
    Hamp Clemons
    • Hamp
    • Director
      • George Tillman Jr.
    • Writer
      • George Tillman Jr.
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews44

    7.09.5K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    10do-bye

    Family Love

    I totally enjoyed this movie. It had me full of emotion and rubbing my belly all at the same time. It's hard to understand why all families cannot sit down and enjoy times like the Joseph family had. Lem getting arrested, Teri & Max at each others throats, Mama Joe's illness, and Faith and Myles' bad deed really tested that love. This was a film that brought to light about hard times and rising above them. One person can make a difference. Ahmad proved that by getting the whole family back for "sunday dinner." It is always a silver lining to a negative situation. That food would definitely bring me back! We need more of these times in today's world. Forget materials things, love is bigger.
    8DP-4

    A movie that keeps it real

    OK, so I waited for 4 years to see this movie. Silly me. This movie was very good. Not great, but very good. The acting really carried what was a mediocre script. The movie did peak my interest in how this family addressed issues openly among themselves. They did not try to sweep things under the rugs. Rather, they used "Sunday dinner" as an opportunity to address tough family issues such an infidelity, gambling addition and encarceration.

    The film was also successful at capturing many aspects of a typical, 90's African-American family. Being half African-American, I can see traces of my very own family in this film and thought that the script was very true, open and honest.
    7boblipton

    Love Is Where The Stomach Is

    Family is going every Sunday evening to grandmother Irma P. Hall's home for supper of corn bread, chicken, catfish, and all the other fixings. But when the diabetes takes her, is there anything that can hold them together? Life is hard, and sisters Vanessa Williams, Viveca Fox, and Nia Long can fight like cats and dogs, and the men are prickly and proud in this movie by George Tillman Jr. As life goes on and the cares of world and ambition pull them apart, Mekhi Phifer hatches a plan to keep the family together.

    Although the details are often surprising and sometimes threatening, it's a recognition that people express their love in in uncomfortable ways. For people who grew up poor, there's no better way to show love than by offering and receiving good food.
    muser1

    Yum...

    I love this movie.

    I just saw it for the first time and could kick myself for waiting so

    long. Brandon Hammond is a hoot and Viveca A. Fox was wonderful. It is

    so nice to see a movie centered around an African-American family that

    wasn't about hoods or hip-hop. Every family, black or white or

    whatever, can identify with the kinds of problems this family had.

    There is a poignant, endearing quality to this movie that just appealed

    to me and I would recommend it to anyone who needs a "feel-good" fix

    without the sweet-as-saccharine quality so many movies have.
    Sargebri

    So True Its Scary

    When I first saw this film it reminded me so much of my family I actually got nervous. The story depicted in this film is so true especially in many Black families, especially mine. The story is pretty much about how a family breaks up after the matriarch becomes ill and eventually dies causing rifts to develop due to the fact that the one person who keeps the family grounded is no longer around to mediate disputes and to show love and guidance to the younger generation. This is definitely a wonderful film that should be viewed by every family no matter what race they are.

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    Related interests

    Will Ferrell in Présentateur vedette: La légende de Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Mekhi Phifer, who played Lem, was at one point married to Malinda Williams, who plays Bird in the cable series.
    • Goofs
      When Bird's co-workers are attacking Lem when he comes out the bathroom, he's wearing boxers under his towel.
    • Quotes

      Mama Joe: You see, in life we all make some bad choices. My husband was a gambler. Almost cost us this house. But I worked, on my hands and knees, cleaning up after white folks. Taking in laundry. You do what you have to do to stay strong.

    • Alternate versions
      The first version of this movie that George Tillman Jr made was entitled Spice of Life. It was released on a local cable access channel in Milwaukee, WI.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: The Peacemaker/Soul Food/The Edge/The Ice Storm/The Assignment (1997)
    • Soundtracks
      A Song for Mama
      Written by Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds

      Produced by Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds (as Babyface) for ECAF Productions, Inc.

      Performed by Boyz II Men (as Boyz II Men)

      Boyz II Men appear courtesy of Motown Records

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    FAQ20

    • How long is Soul Food?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 26, 1997 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Líos de familia
    • Filming locations
      • Chicago, Illinois, USA
    • Production companies
      • Fox 2000 Pictures
      • Edmonds Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $7,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $43,700,855
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $11,197,897
      • Sep 28, 1997
    • Gross worldwide
      • $43,700,855
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 55m(115 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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