agmtw logo
search

Soul Food (1997)

Soul Food (1997)

7.7

A warm comedy-drama celebrating the African-American family and their traditions

Movie

United States of America
English, Italian
Comedy, Drama
1997

What it's about

Traditional Sunday dinners at Mama Joe's (Irma P. Hall) turn sour when sisters Teri (Vanessa L. Williams), Bird (Nia Long) and Maxine (Vivica A. Fox) start bringing their problems to the dinner table in this ensemble comedy. When tragedy strikes, it's up to grandson Ahmad (Brandon Hammond) to pull the family together and put the soul back into the family's weekly gatherings.

The take

Warm and nourishing as the film's cuisine, Soul Food is a celebration of the modern African-American family, represented here by the Josephs. The Chicagoan family has a longstanding tradition of making dinner together every Sunday—a ritual, we’re told, that's lasted for at least 40 years. However, when the matriarch Big Mama Joe gets hospitalized, the simmering tension between her daughters boils over and threatens to break them apart. Many of the struggles they go through are familiar but not cliché, as writer-director George Tillman Jr. draws from his own experiences in a close-knit, extended family. So even if some plot lines feel unresolved, the film is well-paced, soulfully scored, and evenly balanced between the three sisters. Like the food cooked on-screen, this movie will still leave you hungering for more.

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

A romance from France like no other

8.2

Happy as Lazzaro (2018)

A witty Italian comedy

7.5

Mid-August Lunch (2009)

A gorgeous, warm Italian comedy about a special kind of sleepover

8.1

The Wind Rises (2013)

An illuminative interpretation of the life of Jiro Horikoshi, a Japanese aviation engineer responsible for many World War II fighter designs, including the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter

7.9

When Frank Met Carlitos (2023)

An entertaining fictional musical duet between two of the American continent’s greatest singers

7.0

Crooklyn (1994)

Spike Lee’s ode to the Brooklyn of his childhood is bursting with color, music, and nostalgia

7.8

Shun Li and the Poet (2011)

Two immigrants form a friendship in this contemplative seaside drama

7.1

The Divine Order (2017)

A light and humorous drama that explores how Swiss women could not vote until 1971

7.1

Trees Lounge (1996)

Steve Buscemi made his debut in this realistic portrait of a man bound by alcohol

7.1

Far from the Madding Crowd (2015)

Thomas Vinterberg and David Nicholls team up for an enchanting, yet grounded modern interpretation of the classic countryside novel

7.5

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.