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photo courtesy of mrpatok

Last week I decided to take a break from the grind of pursuing freelance work to go see Soul Men with Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson. It was really surreal to watch a new movie where two of the actors had recently passed away.  I mentioned in previous posts how difficult it is to put aside the analysis cap as a writer when going to the movies. I really wanted to watch this movie from an entertainment standpoint because my mind needed the break.

Here’s what I was able to enjoy before the critic stepped in:

·        I loved the grit of Samuel L.’s character, Louis Hinds. I’m a big fan of sarcasm anyway.

·        Bernie Mac’s character, Floyd Henderson talked a big game and as the movie progressed he began to back it up with action.

·        It was great to see Sean Hayes from Will & Grace, he was funny as a TV exec and didn’t seem type-cast at all. I saw him as the actor who played Jack McFarland from Will & Grace instead of seeing as Jack McFarland.

·        Jennifer Coolidge was hysterical. She’s played a variety of roles, one of which includes the salon owner in one of the Legally Blond movies.

·        One surprise was Cleo, played by Sharon Leal. I won’t give her character away in the film other than to say she’s more than a back-up and her voice was something truly not to be missed.

I had forgotten how much swearing goes on in some Black movies. I know for those opposed to it, they find little need for it but it was highly necessary in this instance and lent to the humor.

It reminded me of the weekend family parties that would just materialize. It would start with Grandma’s cooking and Grandpa playing cards on the porch. Before you knew it there’d be four to six men on the porch and just as many women in the kitchen with kids running in and out. There’d be the strong whiff of fried chicken in the air along with lots of trash talking. When the lightening bugs came out and the kids could no longer play ball in the street the party would move inside till late in the evening.

Soul Men was very entertaining. I’m glad I held the critic at bay long enough to laugh and revisit the times of my youth visiting Grandma’s house.  

Much like the books we read, the movies we watch also carry themes. While some creative forms are designed just to amuse, I truly enjoy those that enlighten and inform as they entertain. I suppose a movie or a book has to have some kind of purpose not just for the reader but for the characters involved as well. I want to know that when the movie is over or I’ve closed the book, that the characters have learned from their mistakes or made peace with their demons. I want to witness some sort of transformation or evolution.

Amidst the humor, the songs and the fancy costumes, Soul Men does deliver a message of dreams resurrected, forgiveness and facing consequences. I enjoyed watching Floyd Henderson, Bernie Mac’s character, fight to remain relevant in a society that likes to put retired folks and the elderly out to pasture, while Louis Hinds, Samuel L. Jackson’s character, just fights to survive with his former glory appearing as nothing more than a footnote to his present life. They come together in an effort to meet all these needs and find courage and forgiveness along the way.

Soul Men meant much more than I thought it would and I enjoyed it far better as a result.

Photo Credit: Claudette Barius, S.M.P.S.P.

Born in Chicago in 1957, Bernard Jeffrey McCullough made a promise to his mother as a young boy that she would never cry again.

McCullough, who once drove a Wonder Bread truck and married his high school sweetheart, was captivated by how comedy could transform his mother’s tears to laughter. With a platform that focused on fatherhood and race, the little boy who would become Bernie Mac accomplished just that.

After sell-out comedy theatres and a successful Original Kings of Comedy tour with Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey, and D.L. Hughley, Mac’s career took off in movies such as Friday, Ocean’s Eleven, Guess Who and Bad Santa. An award-winning hit television sitcom loosely taken from an experience in his own life, showed the kind heart behind his expletive-laced bravado which resulted in a 5-year run and a broader audience appeal.

In 2001, Mac wrote his autobiography entitled I Ain’t Scared of You: Bernie Mack on How LIfe Is. The book chronicled the comedian’s views on everything from child-rearing to growing up poor, designed to make a bookworm laugh. Then in 2004, Mac followed up his first book with Maybe You Never Cry Again. In this book, a heart-felt autobiography, Mac recounted how he arrived at his calling and how the power of his mother’s wisdom saw him through difficulty even after her death when he was just sixteen.

While he died too soon in early August 2008 at the age of 50, we have his mother to thank. Although she would not live to see her son’s success due to cancer but enjoyed his childhood routines, it is through her support and wisdom that we have his comedic legacy that will continue to deliver a unique brand of laughter for a long time to come.