The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Soul Food
Comedy · Drama · 1997
Traditional Sunday dinners at Mama Joe's turn sour when sisters Teri, Bird and Maxine start bringing their problems to the dinner table in this ensemble comedy. When tragedy strikes, it's up to grandson Ahmad to pull the family together and put the soul back into the family's weekly gatherings.
Movie details
Soul Food
“Every family needs some.”
1997 Comedy · Drama 1h 54m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.3 / 10
Community rating
Traditional Sunday dinners at Mama Joe's turn sour when sisters Teri, Bird and Maxine start bringing their problems to the dinner table in this ensemble comedy. When tragedy strikes, it's up to grandson Ahmad to pull the family together and put the soul back into the family's weekly gatherings.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Soul Food?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Family Weekend
Comedy · 2013
A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.
Critical Care
Comedy · 1997
Werner Ernst is a young hospital resident who becomes embroiled in a legal battle between two half-sisters who are fighting over the care of their comatose father. But are they really fighting over their father's care, or over his $10 million estate? Meanwhile, Werner must contend with his nutty supervisor, who insists that he only care for patients with full insurance. Can Werner sidestep the hospital's legal team and do what's best for the patient?
Somewhere in Queens
Comedy · 2023
Leo and Angela Russo live a simple life in Queens, surrounded by their overbearing Italian-American family. When their son finds success on his high school basketball team, Leo tears the family apart trying to make it happen.
Eulogy
Comedy · 2004
A black comedy that follows three generations of a family, who come together for the funeral of the patriarch - unveiling a litany of family secrets and covert relationships.
The Adults
Drama · 2023
Eric returns home for a short visit and finds himself caught between reuniting with his sisters and chasing a victory with his old poker group. As the trip extends, Eric finds it increasingly difficult to avoid confrontations and revelations as his carefully constructed façade of his adulthood gives way to old childhood conflicts.
Juniper
Drama · 2021
When a self-destructive teenager is suspended from school and asked to look after his feisty alcoholic grandmother as a punishment, the crazy time they spend together turns his life around.
Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion - The Play
Comedy · 2002
The fireworks begin when Madea’s family gathers for her granddaughter’s wedding. As usual, Madea rules the roost, as she and her neighbor, the wacky Mr. Brown, deliver nonstop laughs. Live, love, rejoice...it’s Madea’s Family Reunion!
Crimes of the Heart
Comedy · 1986
Three sisters try to come to grips with the meaning of their mother's suicide.
Sweetie
Drama · 1989
The buttoned-down, superstitious Kay is attempting to lead a normal existence with her new boyfriend Louis. That’s until Sweetie, her rampaging, devil-may-care sister, returns home after an absence, exposing the rotten roots of their family and placing a strain on Kay and Louis’ relationship.
About Alex
Comedy · 2014
When a group of old college friends reunite over a long weekend after one of them attempts suicide, old crushes and resentments shine light on their life decisions, and ultimately push friendships and relationships to the brink.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
George Tillman Jr.
Written by
George Tillman Jr.
Vanessa Williams
Teri
Vivica A. Fox
Maxine
Nia Long
Robin (Bird)
Michael Beach
Miles
Mekhi Phifer
Lem
Brandon Hammond
Ahmad
Jeffrey D. Sams
Kenny
Court is in session
Put Soul Food on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.