Soul Food (1997)

Director:

George Tillman Jr.

Writer (WGA):

George Tillman Jr. (written by)

Release Date:

26 September 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

A story of the people who make us strong and the recipe that makes us a family.

Plot:

Matriarch Mama Joe has held her family together for 40 years around a Sunday dinner of soul food. When diabetes hospitalizes her...

Plot Keywords:

Sister | African | Unemployment | African American | Unity

Awards:

6 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Vanessa Williams	...	Teri (as Vanessa L. Williams)
Vivica A. Fox	...	Maxine
Nia Long	...	Robin
Michael Beach	...	Miles
Mekhi Phifer	...	Lem
Brandon Hammond	...	Ahmad
Jeffrey D. Sams	...	Kenny
Gina Ravera	...	Faith
Irma P. Hall	...	Mother Joe
Carl Wright	...	Reverend Williams
Mel Jackson	...	Simuel
Morgan Méchelle Smith	...	Kelly
John M. Watson Sr.	...	Uncle Pete
M.T. Alexander	...	Jada
Lawrence Petty	...	Harome
Marcia Wright	...	Nicole
Bernard Mixon	...	Dr. Benson
Hamp Clemons	...	Hamp
Theron Touché Lykes	...	Blimp
Martell Hill Edmond	...	Ahmad - Age 4
Ras Majah Couzan	...	Dread Man
James W. Boinski	...	Foreman
Mike Bacarella	...	Printing Company Owner
Joan Collaso	...	Choir Member
Donn C. Harper	...	Funeral Minister
George Brashear	...	Blimp's Henchman #1
Larry C. Tankson	...	Blimp's Henchman #2
Austin Curtis	...	Family Member
Sylvester Phifer	...	Bartender
Malik Yoba	...	Studio Engineer
Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds	...	Band Member #1
Kevon Edmonds	...	Band Member #2
Melvin Edmonds	...	Band Member #3
Jo Jo Hailey	...	Band Member #4
K-Ci Hailey	...	Band Member #5
Simon Horrocks	...	Band Member #6
Randy Walker	...	Band Member #7
Tamara Braun	...	Teri's Secretary
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Juan Marsh	...	Party goer (uncredited)
Isley Nicole Melton	...	Hair Client (uncredited)
David Newman	...	Boy Friend #1 (uncredited)

Directed by
George Tillman Jr.

Writing credits (WGA)
George Tillman Jr.		(written by)

Produced by
Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds	....	executive producer
Tracey E. Edmonds	....	producer
Michael McQuarn	....	co-producer
Robert Teitel	....	producer
Llewellyn Wells	....	line producer

Original Music by
Lisa Coleman
Wendy Melvoin

Cinematography by
Paul Elliott		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
John Carter

Casting by
Robi Reed-Humes

Production Design by
Maxine Shepard

Art Direction by
Cydney M. Harris

Set Decoration by
Joe Bristol

Costume Design by
Salvador Pérez Jr.		(as Salvador Perez)

Makeup Department
Kate Best	....	makeup artist: Ms. Williams
Eadra Brown	....	first assistant hair stylist
Timothy M. Carter Sr.	....	hair stylist
Sterfon Demings	....	key hair stylist
Cat'ania McCoy-Howze	....	key makeup artist (as Cat'Ania McCoy-Howze)
Denise Wynbrandt	....	first assistant makeup artist (as Denise J. Wynbrandt)

Production Management
Thomas J. Busch	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Randy Fletcher	....	first assistant director
Stefanie Moore	....	second second assistant director (as Stefanie A. Moore)
Jono Oliver	....	second assistant director

Art Department
John Ahlgren	....	painter (as John W. Ahlgren)
Martin Barba	....	carpenter
Michael Beavers	....	carpenter (as Michael J. Beavers)
Mary A. Brady	....	buyer
Michael L. Butkovich	....	painter
David J. Chamerski	....	assistant property master
Frank Coronado	....	illustrator
William Dambra	....	property master
Edward England	....	construction coordinator (as Ed England)
Anthony Joseph Fatigato	....	painter
Frank Ferrari	....	labor foreman (as Frank M. Ferrari)
Matt Gibson	....	carpenter
Mishell Glockler	....	art department coordinator
Harry N. Haase	....	lead painter
Gary Happ	....	construction foreman
James Hartnett	....	carpenter (as James M. Hartnett)
Mike Hohe	....	carpenter (as Michael Hohe)
Aaron C. Holden Jr.	....	on-set dresser
Tom Holloway	....	carpenter (as Thomas Holloway)
Gregg Jarrett	....	carpenter (as Gregg A. Jarrett)
John Kroll	....	carpenter
Mel P. Mack	....	carpenter
Stanley Mack	....	carpenter (as Stanley N. Mack)
Christ Maentanis	....	painter (as Chris Maentanis)
Cyril A. Matthys	....	swing gang (as Cy Matthys)
Quentin Matthys	....	swing gang
John McHugh	....	carpenter
Freddie Mikels	....	painter (as Fred Mikles)
Darryl Parker	....	carpenter
Joel Prihoda	....	lead man
Daniel R. Sarich	....	painter
Daniel Simone Sr.	....	painter (as Daniel Simone)
Joe E. Skinner	....	painter
John J. Slove Jr.	....	carpenter
Glenn Stevens	....	carpenter (as Glenn A. Stevens)
James Topel	....	carpenter (as Jim Topel)
Scott Troha	....	swing gang
Tim Wilp	....	painter (as Timothy W. Wilp)
Dino P. Yario	....	painter (as Dino Yario)
Mark A. Besozzi	....	swing gang (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bobbi Banks	....	adr editor
Ricardo Broadus	....	sound effects editor
John Chandler	....	foley editor
Paul Curtis	....	dialogue editor
Elisabeth Flaum	....	sound effects editor
Marshall Garlington	....	sound re-recording mixer
Brian Geer	....	foley mixer
Jason Johnston	....	cable person
Michael Kamper	....	sound effects editor
Jonathan Karp	....	sound effects editor
Shawn Kennelly	....	assistant adr mixer (as Sean Kennelly)
Jason King	....	dialogue editor
Jason Lezama	....	foley editor
Laura Macias	....	foley artist
Larry Mann	....	supervising sound editor (as Lawrence H. Mann)
Mike Moser	....	sound effects editor (as Michael Moser)
Vince Nicastro	....	foley artist
David Obermeyer	....	sound mixer
Juan Peralta	....	sound re-recording assistant
Colin Rogers	....	adr recordist
Blair Scheller	....	boom operator
Ann Scibelli	....	supervising sound effects editor
Frederick H. Stahly	....	dialogue editor
John C. Stuver	....	adr editor (as Stuv)
Ken Teaney	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Tim Walston	....	sound effects editor
Skip Williams	....	sound effects editor
Ronald L. Wright	....	cable person
Pembrooke Andrews	....	assistant dialogue editor (uncredited)
Douglas Hinton	....	film-to-HDTV sound editor (uncredited)
John Lajvort	....	sound editorial engineer (uncredited)
Liz Sroka	....	adr recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Rodman Kiser	....	special effects assistant (as Rod Kiser)
Tom Ryba	....	special effects coordinator
Jeffrey Lyle Segal	....	special effects makeup

Stunts
Iris Ade	....	stunts (as Iris Adé)
Naima A. Dawson	....	stunts
Randy Popplewell	....	stunts (as Randy A. Popplewell)
Bobby Stuart	....	stunts (as Bob Stuart)
Irvetta McMurtry	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Janice Arthur	....	Steadicam operator
Joseph P. Connelly	....	electrician
Theodore A. Corso	....	electrician (as Theadore A. Corso)
James Dewinski	....	electrician (as Jim Dewinski)
Adam C. Eichhorst	....	dolly grip (as Adam Eichhorst)
Joe Evreniadis	....	company grip
Marco Fargnoli	....	camera loader
John P. Friday	....	best boy electric (as John Friday)
Dulce 'Candy' González	....	camera operator
Andy Graham	....	first assistant camera (as Andrew Graham)
Adam Griswold	....	best boy rigging grip
Charles S. Hodes	....	still photographer (as Chuck Hodes)
John Hudecek	....	gaffer
Mort Hyatt	....	electrician (as Morton E. Hyatt)
Gregory A. Jackson	....	second assistant camera
Harry P. Jackson III	....	electrician
Charles Jimenez	....	key rigging grip
Michael Kohnhorst	....	director of photography: second unit
Robert Krzeminski	....	electric rigger
Dana Kupper	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Michael Lange	....	company grip
Michelle M. Mann	....	camera remote operator
Mark E. Matthys	....	best boy grip
Donald E. Miller	....	key grip
Peter Miller	....	electrician
William R. Nielsen Jr.	....	Steadicam operator (as Bill Nielson Jr.)
Thomas J. Ridgen	....	company grip (as Thomas J. Rigden)
Joe 'Jody' Williams	....	assistant camera (as Jody Williams)
Kyle Holden	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Barbara Harris	....	adr voice casting
Sharon D. King	....	casting: Chicago
Aimy Mhoon	....	casting assistant
Mark A. Ridge	....	extras casting (as Mark Ridge)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jacqueline S. Beatka	....	seamstress
Jane Blank	....	seamstress
Patrick Caulfield	....	costumer
Gloria Coffey-Sharrieff	....	costumer
Jonvaldí	....	clothing provider: Vanessa Williams
Gina Marie Ome	....	costumer
Nancy Takehara	....	costume supervisor (as N. Rozakis Takehara)
Juanita White	....	assistant to costume designer

Editorial Department
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Dennis McNeill	....	color timer
DeNon Porter	....	assistant editor (as Denon Porter)
Ron Radvinsky	....	assistant editor
Dirk Westervelt	....	associate editor
Steve Kraus	....	editing systems technician (uncredited)

Music Department
Lisa Coleman	....	musician: piano soloist
Neal Desby	....	musician: oboe soloist
Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds	....	executive music producer
Dan Garde	....	music editor
Clark Germain	....	orchestra coordinator
Suzie Katayama	....	orchestra consultant
Wendy Melvoin	....	musician: drums and bass soloist
William Motzing	....	conductor: orchestra
Andrew Scheps	....	musician: trumpist soloist
Andrew Scheps	....	underscore coordinator
Brad Gilderman	....	music mixer (uncredited)
Stephanie Lowry	....	assistant music editor (uncredited)
Michael McQuarn	....	music supervisor (uncredited)
David Sabee	....	orchestra contractor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Michael J. Farej	....	transportation co-captain
Patrick Lynn	....	transportation captain (as Patrick J. Lynn)
John P. McAuliffe	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Alicia Accardo	....	script supervisor
Stephen Andrzejewski	....	location manager
Gena Avery	....	assistant: Ms. Williams
Brian W. Boyd	....	assistant: Mr. Tillman (as Brian Boyd)
Ken Cabrera	....	craft service (as Kenny Cabrera)
Harold Caldwell	....	office production assistant
Dennis Cavalier	....	payroll accountant
Roy E. Dean	....	fire safety (as Roy E. Dean II)
Elizabeth Dollarhide	....	assistant: Mr. Wells
Shara P. Fleming	....	executive assistant: Mrs. Edmonds (as Shara Fleming)
Damon Glaspie	....	set production assistant (as Damon 'Dee' Glaspie)
Russell Green	....	office production assistant (as Russell A. Green)
Larry Hanks	....	piano instructor
Poppy Hanks	....	assistant: Mr. Teitel
Bernard G. Jacobs	....	clothing provider: Mekhi Phifer, Marc Buchanan-Pelle Pelle
Darryl Johnson	....	office production assistant (as Darryl E. Johnson)
Kathryn Madden	....	medic (as Kathryn A. Madden)
Ademola McMullen	....	set production assistant
Debbie Miller	....	unit publicist
Melody L. Moses	....	set production assistant
Mark A. Murphy	....	first assistant accountant
Donna E. Oakes	....	craft service
Margaret J. Orlando	....	production coordinator
Dan Perri	....	title designer: main titles
Freddie Petros	....	food stylist
Terrie Quinlan	....	studio teacher
Dawn Smallman	....	location assistant
George L. Tarrant Jr.	....	location production assistant
Margaret A. Thomas	....	assistant production coordinator
Vanessa Truvillion	....	choreographer
Solombra Tucker	....	executive assistant: Mr. Edmonds
Jon-Paul Velasquez	....	set production assistant (as Jon Paul Velasquez)
Jane Chase Wells	....	key set production assistant
James York	....	medic
Ericka N. Shane	....	accounting assistant: Chicago (uncredited)
Greg Whiteside	....	computer/video playback operator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Edmonds Entertainment Group (EEG)
• Fox 2000 Pictures

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1997) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (2001) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• 20th Century Fox (Far East)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (1998) (Argentina) (all media)
• Gativideo (1998) (Argentina) (VHS)

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong sexuality and language.

Runtime:

114 min | Argentina:115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Iceland:L | Australia:MA | Spain:13 | USA:R | Germany:6 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Edmonds Entertainment Group (EEG)

Trivia:

Mekhi Phifer, who played Lem, was at one point married to Malinda Williams, who plays Bird in the cable series.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Lem is sitting in the living room talking to Kenny at his house, you can see a light from the camera visible in the window behind them.

Quotes:

Mama Joe: [after recieving a doctor's examination] I'm not getting my leg cut off.
Teri: Mama, there's no blood flowing to that leg. You're diabetic.
Maxine: You haven't been watching what you eat.
Mama Joe: [angrily, with tears in her eyes] NOBODY is cutting off my leg! And that's that!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Boondocks: The Itis (#1.10)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

No Diggity

Good, would see it again.

The actors do a great job. It basically lays problems right out on the table which instead of ignoring problems that a lot of families are used to doing, this movie casts these things out to give us a sense that problems should be worked out. It follows the theme of how one should see that "family is a commitment to one another and not an obligation" very well.