When Mark Watson learns that his father, who is a wealthy psychiatrist will not pay for his college tuition. In desperation, he pretends to be black, changing his skin colour, as well as his hair and how he speaks. However, by doing so he sets himself up for more than he bargained for. Experiencing racism, he learns what It's like being a black man in 80's America. And when he falls in love Sarah, a black student he comes to feel guilty about his deception.
Racism and the melting pot that was and still is American society, has been for a very long time a contentious and heated hotbed topic. With Soul Man director Steve Miner, who had previously until then had cut his teeth directing the first two Friday the 13th sequels, as well as the B-movie Horror comedy House, decided to steer in a different direction with this comedy, which attempts to be one part goofy teen comedy, and one other part social satire. Needless to say, the movie did ruffle some feathers upon its 1986 release. Not least of all because of lead star C. Thomas Howell donning black-face, with allegations of racial insensitivity coming mostly vocally from the NAACP. So severe was the backlash against it, that even though a commercial success at the box office, it scuppered Howell's career, and any chance of him being a mainstream Hollywood leading man.
This begs the question then as to whether the movie on reflection was deserving of the critical mauling it received. Is it guilty of being racially insensitive? Well, here's the thing, and let me just state that, to begin with, Soul Man is not a good movie. However, this is not due to the controversy it stirred up and erroneous allegations made against it. The problems with it are many-fold, not least of which is that Howell's Mark Watson exceeds a dosage of tanning pills to make himself look black, and then alters his hair. With some movies, a healthy amount of suspension of disbelief is required, and that is fine. But here, the notion that anyone would believe that he is a genuine black man, and not some college kid who has taken it upon himself to disguise his white ethnic identity is a bit of a hard pill to swallow. What Black it seems was going for was a movie in the spirit of Tootsie, which saw Dustin Hoffman's struggling actor who, out of deperation dons a wig, makeup, and a dress to pretend to be a woman to win a role in a daytime soap opera. Only to experience the sexism and prejudice that professional women have experienced in the working world. Therefore, I might have been more forgving towards Soul Man if were it not so that screenwriter Carol Black (the irony of her surname is not lost on me) didn't aim for the low-hanging fruit of racial comedy in depicting the casual prejudice and racism that Watson experiences. Going so far as in one brief egregious moment of forced comedy, where Howell dons sunglasses and sways from side to side as if he's Stevie Wonder black. There's also the additional story arc involving Howell having a sexual relationship with a fellow white student. Whose rich white parents (one of whom is played by veteran actor Leslie Nielsen), are there to act as the catalyst for some visual punchlines, that are equitably tired and lazy.
All the obvious cliches, and Black doesn't just stop there with the ethnic stereotyping, but its script that conform to all the tropes that abound in teen comedies of its variety. To the extent that anyone who has watched enough movies of this ilk could have written it themselves. Suffice it to say, you know the hero is going to get the girl, and somehow manage to not face any serious consequences for his duplicity. Not before learning some valuable lessons, and coming through the back of his experience a better man. And this is Harvard Law of all places that he has been defrauding, which makes it all the harder to buy. Needless to say, the movie writes itself. Far from being racially insensitive, it's more a case of it stooping to implausible genre conventions.
Just as careless is that Black hasn't put as much discipline into her storytelling, with one story arc involving one of Howell's fellow white students, and his girlfriend potentially revealing his deception proves to be unnecessary as it doesn't go ever anywhere. The best that can be said for Soul Man, is that the actors for the most part deliver solid performances, although Howell proves to be a bit uneven in his early scenes. There have been quibbles made about his chemistry with his love interest Rae Dawn Chong. I never found this to be an issue. Although it is ironic, that there would have been seeing as both actors became romantically involved, and would eventually marry, although they eventually divorced after just one year together.
Doubtless, all those involved with Soul Man went into it with good intentions, although it may be argued that the teen comedy genre may not have been the wisest genre to aim for. Or perhaps It could have, and it was merely a matter of creative lethargy from Black. Either way, it despite it' commercial success it's gone on to be a footnote in comedy movie history, as that movie that ruined C. Thomas Howell's. If Black wanted to write a smart, funny comedy that satirised racism, she should have watched Mel Brooks Blazing Saddles to gets some pointers. That being said, it benefited from it's cartoonish, western parody template as opposed to this movie which attempted to take a more down-to-earth, reality-driven backdrop. That complemented Brooks's brand of comedy. In the end, if you're looking for a sharp, witty, and insightful social comedy that tackles the issue of racism. Soul Man is not that movie. It's heart was in the right place, but not it's soul.
Racism and the melting pot that was and still is American society, has been for a very long time a contentious and heated hotbed topic. With Soul Man director Steve Miner, who had previously until then had cut his teeth directing the first two Friday the 13th sequels, as well as the B-movie Horror comedy House, decided to steer in a different direction with this comedy, which attempts to be one part goofy teen comedy, and one other part social satire. Needless to say, the movie did ruffle some feathers upon its 1986 release. Not least of all because of lead star C. Thomas Howell donning black-face, with allegations of racial insensitivity coming mostly vocally from the NAACP. So severe was the backlash against it, that even though a commercial success at the box office, it scuppered Howell's career, and any chance of him being a mainstream Hollywood leading man.
This begs the question then as to whether the movie on reflection was deserving of the critical mauling it received. Is it guilty of being racially insensitive? Well, here's the thing, and let me just state that, to begin with, Soul Man is not a good movie. However, this is not due to the controversy it stirred up and erroneous allegations made against it. The problems with it are many-fold, not least of which is that Howell's Mark Watson exceeds a dosage of tanning pills to make himself look black, and then alters his hair. With some movies, a healthy amount of suspension of disbelief is required, and that is fine. But here, the notion that anyone would believe that he is a genuine black man, and not some college kid who has taken it upon himself to disguise his white ethnic identity is a bit of a hard pill to swallow. What Black it seems was going for was a movie in the spirit of Tootsie, which saw Dustin Hoffman's struggling actor who, out of deperation dons a wig, makeup, and a dress to pretend to be a woman to win a role in a daytime soap opera. Only to experience the sexism and prejudice that professional women have experienced in the working world. Therefore, I might have been more forgving towards Soul Man if were it not so that screenwriter Carol Black (the irony of her surname is not lost on me) didn't aim for the low-hanging fruit of racial comedy in depicting the casual prejudice and racism that Watson experiences. Going so far as in one brief egregious moment of forced comedy, where Howell dons sunglasses and sways from side to side as if he's Stevie Wonder black. There's also the additional story arc involving Howell having a sexual relationship with a fellow white student. Whose rich white parents (one of whom is played by veteran actor Leslie Nielsen), are there to act as the catalyst for some visual punchlines, that are equitably tired and lazy.
All the obvious cliches, and Black doesn't just stop there with the ethnic stereotyping, but its script that conform to all the tropes that abound in teen comedies of its variety. To the extent that anyone who has watched enough movies of this ilk could have written it themselves. Suffice it to say, you know the hero is going to get the girl, and somehow manage to not face any serious consequences for his duplicity. Not before learning some valuable lessons, and coming through the back of his experience a better man. And this is Harvard Law of all places that he has been defrauding, which makes it all the harder to buy. Needless to say, the movie writes itself. Far from being racially insensitive, it's more a case of it stooping to implausible genre conventions.
Just as careless is that Black hasn't put as much discipline into her storytelling, with one story arc involving one of Howell's fellow white students, and his girlfriend potentially revealing his deception proves to be unnecessary as it doesn't go ever anywhere. The best that can be said for Soul Man, is that the actors for the most part deliver solid performances, although Howell proves to be a bit uneven in his early scenes. There have been quibbles made about his chemistry with his love interest Rae Dawn Chong. I never found this to be an issue. Although it is ironic, that there would have been seeing as both actors became romantically involved, and would eventually marry, although they eventually divorced after just one year together.
Doubtless, all those involved with Soul Man went into it with good intentions, although it may be argued that the teen comedy genre may not have been the wisest genre to aim for. Or perhaps It could have, and it was merely a matter of creative lethargy from Black. Either way, it despite it' commercial success it's gone on to be a footnote in comedy movie history, as that movie that ruined C. Thomas Howell's. If Black wanted to write a smart, funny comedy that satirised racism, she should have watched Mel Brooks Blazing Saddles to gets some pointers. That being said, it benefited from it's cartoonish, western parody template as opposed to this movie which attempted to take a more down-to-earth, reality-driven backdrop. That complemented Brooks's brand of comedy. In the end, if you're looking for a sharp, witty, and insightful social comedy that tackles the issue of racism. Soul Man is not that movie. It's heart was in the right place, but not it's soul.