marclambert-82001 I first decided to watch Soul Man because I thought the initial concept was funny. -A white person pretends to be black so he can get a scholarship grant to pay for his university tuition. I like offensive humour and outrageous jokes that push the boundaries of what is acceptable. -As a fan of dark humour I was sadly disappointed to find that there were hardly any bits like that to make me laugh. I read about this film online and I was hoping it would be similar to Burning Saddles.The main problem I had with Soul Man is that it takes itself too seriously to be funny. After Mark Watson (C. Thomas Howell) enrols at Harvard university pretending to be a black student he begins to notice a series of racist remarks and attacks from the white folk around him. -It's ironic how the film-makers paint the picture that black people are constant victims of racism when black people can get massive scholarship grants given to them by the state. The acting in this movie is also quite bad but still bearable nevertheless. I agree with some other reviews that Rae Dawn Chong (Sarah) was the best actor in the film. The romance scenes were average and the ending was OK but I think it seemed a little too rushed.-To all those reviewers who labelled this movie as racist against black people I think you might need to re-watch it. All the black characters in this movie were portrayed as intelligent, compassionate and respectful people. On the other hand, almost all the white characters were represented in the film as a bunch of stupid, insensitive, angry bigots, only ever coming out with a few dumb one-liners.I don't recommend watching this movie if you are looking for something funny to watch or controversial because it is neither.

FlashCallahan Mark doesn't expect any problems in going to college, he and his friend have reserved places in Harvard and his parents have the money to pay for his education.But his father's psychiatrist advises him to go on vacation in Hawaii instead of spending more money on his son. Since Mark wants to keep his lifestyle, including a fancy car and a flat shared with his friend, he seeks financial support. The only foundation which still accepts applications is for blacks only. With lots of tanning pills he sets out to Harvard....It must have sounded good on paper. The high concept plot sounds okay, but the execution is handled so poorly, it cannot help but be offensive, even though it doesn't want to be.After the gimmick wears off, it's your regular fish out of water comedy, which has so many troupes, there should be a horn go off every time one is mentioned.Howells is good, but this film ruined his career. Remember him in The Amazing Spider- Man? Didn't think so.It has its moments, but it doesn't hold up like most eighties movies do.its a shame, because done in the right hands, it can be funny.....See Tropic Thunder.A waste, and I feel sorry for Howell.

raisleygordon This is a potentially great idea for movie, and it does live up to its potential. And it's funny enough. But it doesn't deal with the reality of what a kid posing as a black person really could, should or would suffer through. The ending is especially formulaic and predictable, or to also describe it, unrealistic. I'm not saying it's a dislikeable movie on any level, but it is a questionable one. To a degree, anyway. One scene that comes into mind is when Matt is trying to hide his "face" from his parents who are visiting. Predictable, but funny stuff. But not really necessary. I know this is a comedy, but just because it is, doesn't mean it shouldn't deal with serious issues.*** out of ****

tenthousandtattoos You know those winter meals you make for cold nights, they're in no way good for you but they just give you that comforted feeling? That's the way we "children of the 80's" look back on those truly awful but oh-so-memorably cheesy flicks we grew up on. Who could forget Carl Weathers' failed attempt to become a leading male action movie star with the dreadful Action Jackson? Or the talking computer and the romantic nerd who made an incredibly annoying song very popular for about a year? Or good ol' Kev Bacon strutting around a barn to a cheesy 80's pop tune... And let's not forget the horror and bad post-star wars science fiction...but that's another review. Onto the delicious slice of cheesecake at hand that is Soul Man.Very white-white guy Mark Watson (C Thomas Howell) has just got into Harvard Law with his best bud (Arye Gross), but there's a spanner in the works. His newly enlightened Dad (the very funny James B Sikking) has decided to let Mark grow up a little by paying his own way. Unable to come up with the 50k Mark scams a scholarship meant for an African American student by taking an overdose of tanning pills and Michael Jackson-ing his hair. He gets in, and his "education" begins as he learns what it's like to be black on a mostly-white campus, and falls in love with a black girl (Rae Dawn Chong) to boot.It's typical 80's rom-com formula all the way, boy-meets-girl, boy loses girl while learning life lessons, boy-gets-girl in the end kind of thing. There's even a woefully cheesy romantic montage scene to the tunes of "Suddenly it's Magic"...pure gold! This one stands out from the pack because a) it has some genuinely gut-busting moments, and b) it has great performances from all the leads. C Thomas Howell is achingly hilarious in some scenes as the white-guy-trying-to-act-like a black guy. His facial expressions during the basketball game scene are gold. Rae Dawn Chong is always good, she's a great "straight-guy" to Howell's over-the-top Mark Watson. Arye Gross is great, it's easy to see why he went on to other (better) things, he's got some great comic timing and provides some of the movie's best moments. And James Earl Jones, although a little bit "i did this for the money", is imposing and dead-pan funny at the same time.It's not without it's flaws. The "Kareem" thing was a tad distasteful and required just a little too much suspension of disbelief. The black panther get-up at the BSLA meeting was just ridiculous, for one scene Watson seemingly becomes a total moron, then reverts back to being a normal guy. And the over the top punch out scene at the end where the two racist jokers go flying over cafeteria tables, that was just silly. But to compensate, there's some incredibly funny moments and just a good all round "feel" to this movie that will ensure it gets another play in my house soon.So, to sum up, Soul Man elicits more laughs than groans, so it's a winner in my books.