Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

       View All       Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

      Soul Food

      R Released Sep 26, 1997 1 hr. 54 min. Comedy Drama List
      82% 45 Reviews Tomatometer 86% 10,000+ Ratings Audience Score When Ahmad Simmons' (Brandon Hammond) diabetic grandmother, Josephine "Big Mama" Joseph (Irma P. Hall), falls into a coma during an operation to amputate her leg, it throws the Joseph family into chaos. Ahmad watches as his mother, Maxine (Vivica A. Fox), and aunts Teri (Vanessa L. Williams) and Tracy (Nia Long) struggle to adjust to the family matriarch's sudden absence, fall into old rivalries, share memories, and work to maintain the long-standing tradition of Sunday family dinners. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered May 15 Buy Now

      Where to Watch

      Soul Food

      Fandango at Home Hulu Prime Video Apple TV

      Watch Soul Food with a subscription on Hulu, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

      Soul Food

      What to Know

      Critics Consensus

      Much like the titular cuisine, Soul Food blends a series of savory ingredients to offer warm, generous helpings of nourishment and comfort.

      Read Critics Reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (556) audience reviews
      Audience Member So good! Great performances and a heart-warming story. Watching this in 2024 though…one part didn’t age well. The movie is called Soul food and it was because of that Soul food that the grandma got diabetes and died. 💀 Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/23/24 Full Review Karl O This movie would have been better titled Crock Pot. You throw a mess of ridiculousness in a pot, let it simmer for 115 long minutes, then have it boil over into unlikely and silly goo. And you end up with this flavorless paste of loud soap opera. And Christ - that dreadful score - my ears are still bleeding from the sound of saccharin. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 11/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Over 25 years old and I remember watching parts of it in middle school for film class Love its look at dysfunctional black families The title actually derives from the early days of slavery when blacks didn't have a lot to celebrate so cooking was their expression of love and appreciation The three female leads Vivica A. Fox, Vanessa Williams, and Nia Long do tremendously But it's really Brandon Hammond that makes it gel together Great nourishment and comfort all around Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/27/23 Full Review Rashida Babbs L From 1997 to 2024 discuss how soul food is the world's largest industry More Soul Food is the sequel take us to the beginning Bird and Simmiwell (when they began dating) transition to Terry and Simmiwell bachelor party wedding) Maxine and Ahmad restoration of family rental property! Momma Joe has siblings that come to reconnect the whole family Faith and Miles wedding party just jotting down some ideas Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/03/23 Full Review BeefBaconBiscut We're gonna pause this for the benefit of all y'all who never saw Soul Food Soul Food is a movie about a big, humongous black grandmother, aptly named Big Mama Big Mama demonstrates her love by feeding herself and her offspring enormous amounts of pig lard Then- Get this -Big Mama's arteries are so clogged, they gotta amputate her arm It was her leg! Right Okay, whatever Leg Then she dies of a heart attack Or another stroke or somethin' God called her home And what does the family do after she dies? They get together for a Sunday dinner and eat the same food that just killed Big Mama The same food! They didn't learn a lesson Nobody went on a diet And that's the end of the movie Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 07/12/23 Full Review DOMONIQUE S I THINK "SOUL FOOD" IS MY MOTHER'S FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME, NOT MINE. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/10/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

      More Like This

      View All Best Movies to Stream at Home
      13% 51% Moonlight and Valentino 85% 43% Bad Manners 0% 67% Foolish 21% 18% Ringmaster 43% 60% The Big Squeeze Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

      Movie News & Guides

      View All Movie News & Guides

      This movie is featured in the following articles.

      Total Recall: Directors Who Paved the Way for Tyler Perry Producers of Notorious B.I.G. Biopic Seek Unknown Star The Weekly Ketchup: "Spider-Man 3" Teasers, "Pirates 3" Pics And Rumors, "Transformers" Images, And More!

      Photos

      View All Soul Food photos

      Soul Food

      Soul Food (1997) Soul Food (1997) Soul Food (1997) Soul Food (1997) View more photos

      Critics Reviews

      View All (45) Critics Reviews
      Rosalind Bentley Minneapolis Star Tribune A feast for the eye and a tug at the heart -- that is writer/director George Tillman Jr.s' new film, Soul Food. Rated: 3.5/5 Jan 26, 2022 Full Review Paul Tatara CNN.com An overt desire to please often leaves Tillman relying on force-feeding techniques. Mar 17, 2008 Full Review Richard Corliss TIME Magazine Soul Food aims to be a banquet of feelings, but mostly it serves up tripe. Mar 17, 2008 Full Review Dan DiNicola The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY) This movie could have sunk to soap opera melodrama. But Tillman really cares about each multidimensional character. As a result, the film resonates. Rated: B+ Jan 10, 2023 Full Review Sheila Reid Women in the Life A heartwarming but realistic exploration of complex emotions experienced by members of the family. May 31, 2022 Full Review Barbara Shulgasser Common Sense Media '90s family drama has language and sex. Rated: 3/5 Dec 19, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis When Ahmad Simmons' (Brandon Hammond) diabetic grandmother, Josephine "Big Mama" Joseph (Irma P. Hall), falls into a coma during an operation to amputate her leg, it throws the Joseph family into chaos. Ahmad watches as his mother, Maxine (Vivica A. Fox), and aunts Teri (Vanessa L. Williams) and Tracy (Nia Long) struggle to adjust to the family matriarch's sudden absence, fall into old rivalries, share memories, and work to maintain the long-standing tradition of Sunday family dinners.
      Director
      George Tillman Jr.
      Executive Producer
      Kenneth Babyface Edmonds
      Screenwriter
      George Tillman Jr.
      Distributor
      20th Century Fox
      Production Co
      Fox 2000 Pictures, Edmonds Entertainment
      Rating
      R
      Genre
      Comedy, Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Sep 26, 1997, Original
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Nov 25, 2015
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $43.5M
      Sound Mix
      SDDS, Dolby Digital
      Most Popular at Home Now