The late Bernie Mac, Isaac Hayes give 'Men' its soul
I'm guessing that it will be nearly impossible for anyone to watch "Soul Men" without thinking of it less as a routine comic road movie than as a loving tribute to its two beloved stars Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes, who plays himself in a supporting role.
Both performers died within 24 hours of each other in August.
Although it would be a wonderful homage to them to praise "Soul Men" as a motion picture worthy of their talents, alas, it falls far short.
"Soul Men" traffics in the expected, the safe, the common denominator and a host of reliable clichés, both visual (overhead fans, cutesy license plates) and verbal ("That's what I'm talkin' about!" Mac shouts, along with "Trust me!" - twice).
Samuel L. Jackson reprises his standard, honked-off, angry black man quick to fire off deadly volleys of R-rated swear words. Mac falls back on his avuncular comic persona more at home in a TV sitcom than on the silver screen.
They play two former backup singers for the 1970s band The Real Deal with lead singer Marcus Hooks (John Legend). When Hooks dies of a heart attack, VH-1 plans a huge retrospective at the Apollo Theater in New York. Agent Danny Epstein (Glen Ellyn native Sean Hayes) invites Louis Hinds (Jackson) and Floyd Henderson (Mac) to the big event, triggering thoughts of a comeback.
Louis doesn't care. While Floyd has retired from a successful car wash business out West, Louis is an ex-con who lives in poverty. He has reasons not to hook up with his old "buddy."
Louis eventually gives in and agrees to go to New York, but only by car, otherwise, this would be a very brief road movie. Along the way, the two get sexually involved with ladies (an encounter with Jennifer Coolidge is a randy stitch) and, because the men are AARP-age, perform a lot of obligatory Viagra jokes.
Eventually, they wind up in Tulsa at the home of a woman they both romanced, only to discover she has died, and her young daughter Cleo ("Dreamgirls" star Sharon Leal) has a great set of pipes, just in case they need a new lead singer.
For indiscriminate audiences, "Soul Men" is a fundamentally entertaining vehicle, with Jackson and Mac sharing a volatile chemistry. Their 1970s costumes and Temptations-style dance moves evoke an element of waxy nostalgia.
But couldn't the two stars have practiced their steps enough so that their dance doubles didn't need to constantly supply the fancy footwork in all those below-the-waist close-ups?
"Soul Men"
Rating: Two stars
Starring: Bernie Mac, Samuel L. Jackson, Sean Hayes, Isaac Hayes, Mike Epps, Jennifer Coolidge and Vanessa del Rio
Directed by: Malcolm D. Lee
Other: A Weinstein Company release. Rated (R) language, nudity, sexual situations. 103 minutes