Excessive cursing is a gamble in any movie; it needs to be employed enough to be realistic while at the same time go unnoticed. “Soul Men,” sadly, has more f-bombs than even Cartman from “South Park” could muster. What this does is detract from great music, the story and, most importantly, the comedy. The laughs are sparse because the cursing is far beyond realistic and pulls the audience out of the moment. Still, the movie is saved by generally good performances from Samuel L. Jackson (“Lakeview Terrace”) and the late Bernie Mac (“Ocean’s 13”) and fantastic music dispersed throughout. Every time the movie becomes boring, the music is cued and the pace speeds up.
When the lead singer of ’70s Motown sensation The Real Deal passes away, the group’s two background singers, Louis Hinds (Jackson) and Floyd Henderson (Mac) attempt to reunite after 30 years on a cross country road trip to play at their friend’s televised funeral. Both men hate each other because Henderson married Hinds’ girl back in the day, and neither have spoken since. Because Hinds won’t fly, the two drive from the west coast to New York City, playing shows at local bars while trying to reconnect with each other. The duo stops at Henderson’s ex-wife’s house to find she has passed away but meet her daughter (Sharon Leal, “Dreamgirls”) and her abusive boyfriend. Eventually, the three of them leave and perform together, but not without many stops along the road.
Although Bernie Mac was a dirty comedian, his screen legacy is cleaner, making this role almost perfect as one of his last screen performances — almost, because of the cussing. Mac is probably best known for his TV show “The Bernie Mac Show,” playing a demanding but warm-hearted uncle. Here, he is again demanding and warm-hearted deep down, but the swearing chops that aspect away. In the end, he delivers a high-energy performance that is both focused and funny.
With six movies this year, it is apparent that Samuel L Jackson let his hair down (which he occasionally does here) and just had fun. Jackson was clearly amused by Mac’s humor because the two have terrific chemistry in their scenes together. These scenes move at a fast pace which allows tensions to rise, leading to an explosion of anger and thus providing the only laughs in the movie. It is a shame: With a better script, Mac and Jackson seemed to be candidates for the next Walter Matthau and Jack Lemon as both actors pushed into their later years.
Unfortunately, the ultimate loser of this movie was the comedy. The scenes between Mac and Jackson succeed mildly and sometimes produced a few laughs. The supporting cast does not deliver any laughs, but this is not their fault as the script was weak from the beginning. The jokes are either too predictable or so lost beneath the downpour of swear words that they did not play well. It sounds like vulgarity ruined the movie — to make an estimate, there was probably an average of three swear words a minute for a 100 minute movie — but this film was saved by the music. Motown is a fun genre with upbeat melodies and a big brass sound that can turn any dud into a fun experience. Mac and Jackson sing and dance surprisingly well. and Leal has a powerful voice making it impossible not to toe-tap during the musical numbers, which are the only reason this movie is worthwhile.
Director Malcolm D. Lee (“Undercover Brother”) and screenwriters Matthew Stone and Robert Ramsey (“Man of the House”) try to combine “The Sunshine Boys,” a play and movie by Neil Simon, and “The Blues Brothers” to fit the Motown genre. With stars like Bernie Mac and Samuel L Jackson the idea seems like a gold medal finisher but ends up getting fifth place instead of first. The comedy was too lacking, the attempted drama was not realistic, and the swearing nearly lead to a disqualification, but like most movies about music, it is the music that keeps “Soul Men” in the race, enough at least to pay tribute to the late Bernie Mac.
2 1/2 stars out of 5
