Soul food

:For the cuisine, see soul food

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Soul Food is a 1997 film, produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Traci Edmonds, and released by Fox 2000 Pictures. It stars Vanessa L. Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer, Irma P. Hall, and Brandon Hammond, and was directed by George Tillman, Jr..

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Synopsis

Set in Chicago, Illinois, Soul Food, told through the eyes of 11-year-old Ahmad Chadway (Hammond), follows the trials of the Joseph family, a close-knit African American family that gets together to have Sunday dinner together every week, with plenty of soul food to go around. Mother Joseph (Hall) has three daughters, who each have had varying success in life: oldest daughter Teri (Williams) has suffered relationship problems ever since her younger sister Maxine stole and married Teri's boyfriend Kenny Chadway. Teri's current husband, Miles (Beach), desires to follow his dreams of being an R&B musician. Youngest Joseph daughter Tracy (nicknamed "Bird") has just opened a barbershop/beauty parlor, and the family is uneasy about her marriage to Lem Van Adams (Phifer), an ex-convict.

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These problems are complicated when Mother Joe, the glue that holds the family together, suffers a debilitating stroke. Without her guidance, the family begins to fall apart: Teri takes in her troubled cousin Faith (Gina Rivera), who begins flirting with Miles. As an ex-con, Lem cannot find a job, so Bird makes an uneasy deal with an ex-boyfriend Simuel (Mel Jackson) to get Lem a job. By contrast, Kenny and Maxine are reasonably stable, and expecting their third child, but Ahmad, their oldest child, is worried about the state of his extended family, and conspires to find a way to bring them all back together.

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Awards

Williams won an Image Award for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture"; Fox was also nominated for the award. Hammond won an Image Award for "Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress", and Irma P. Hall won for "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture".

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Trivia

• The movie, a box-office hit, spawned a follow-up cable television show on the Showtime network; it aired from 2000 through 2004. It currently airs in reruns on BET.
• Soul Food's theme song is "A Song for Mama", written and produced by Babyface and performed by Boyz II Men. Released as a single, "A Song for Mama" became a Top 10 hit in 1997 and is today a popular selection for vocal harmony groups. Another Soul Food single, Dru Hill's "We're Not Making Love No More" (also written and produced by Babyface) was a Top 20 hit the same year, as was Total's "What About Us", written and produced by Timbaland and Missy Elliott.
• Miles plays keyboards in an R&B group called "Milestone"; the vocalists of the group are portrayed by two brother teams of professional R&B performers: K-Ci Hailey and Jo-Jo Hailey (of K-Ci & Jo-Jo and Jodeci); and Babyface and his older brothers Kevon Edmonds and Melvin Edmonds (both of After 7). Actor Malik Yoba of New York Undercover fame makes a brief cameo as their producer. Milestone's song "I Care About You" was written and produced by Babyface, and released as a single.
• Filming locations include Chicago and Oak Park, Illinois, USA.

1997: 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar....

Film: :This article is about motion pictures. For other uses of "film", see photographic film or film (disambiguation)...

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds: :Babyface redirects here; this article is about the R&B record producer/musician. For other uses, see Babyface (disambiguation)....

Soul food related Images and Photos (experimental)

Soul Food The Series: The Final Season	Food Prep	Soul Power	Soul Tears
Soul Mates	Soul Mates	Soul Power	Soul Plane
Soul Sisters	Soul Decision	Soul Searching	Soul Eater Soul Plush