Soul Man 1986
5.3 / 10
Soul Man
A white prospective grad student's affluent family won't pay his way through law school, so he takes tanning pills to darken his skin in order to qualify for an African-American scholarship at Harvard. He soon gets more than he bargained for, as he begins to learn what life is really like for blacks in America.
A white prospective grad student's affluent family won't pay his way through law school, so he takes tanning pills to darken his skin in order to qualify for an African-American scholarship at Harvard. He soon gets more than he bargained for, as he begins to learn what life is really like for blacks in America.
Videos & Photos
All 1 Videos & 14 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Mark Watson
... Sarah Walker
... Gordon Bloomfeld
... Professor Banks
... Whitney Dunbar
... Mr. Dunbar
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by Dan_Tebasco
**Soul Man** Had heard a bit about this movie before I saw it, many times refered to as being racist. In fact COMPLEX MAGAZINE listed it as number 4 on a 'most racist movies' list they made. Watching it, I must say it's a whole lot less racist than I expected it to be. In fact I wouldn't call it racist at all. It's about a white guy who gets into Harvard but can't afford to go there so he looks for scholarships that he can take but the only one applicable to him is one designed for African Americans. So he fakes being black (with full blackface makeover and a 80's jerrycurl to match) and gets it. There is of course a stigma around blackfaces stemming from early 20th century films where white people would dress up as black people and make fun of them and make them look stupid etc. But to say that this movie is racist for that reason alone is very simpleminded. Cause even though the guy does put on a blackface, there is not a malicious intent behind it. And he does learn a thing or two about racism himself as the movie progresses. I would probably argue that if anything it's more racist towards whites and perhaps a general white perception of blackness (at least of the time) than it is of blacks. But even that would be a bit of a stretch. Anyways slightly overthinking it here perhaps, as it is in fact not a too serious movie but a comedy. And as a comedy, albeit it has a bit of a rough start it works pretty good. It's no masterpiece or anything and it could have done with some editing cutting it down by 15-20 minutes or so. But overall a decent and fairly harmless watch that does manage to convey a pretty good message while also gathering up some big laughs ocassionally.
Genres:
Release Date:
Oct 24, 1986 (United States)
Run Time:
1hr 44`
MMPA Rating:
PG-13
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
Soul Man
**Soul Man** Had heard a bit about this movie before I saw it, many times refered to as being racist. In fact COMPLEX MAGAZINE listed it as number 4 on a 'most racist movies' list they made. Watching it, I must say it's a whole lot less racist than I expected it to be. In fact I wouldn't call it racist at all. It's about a white guy who gets into Harvard but can't afford to go there so he looks for scholarships that he can take but the only one applicable to him is one designed for African Americans. So he fakes being black (with full blackface makeover and a 80's jerrycurl to match) and gets it. There is of course a stigma around blackfaces stemming from early 20th century films where white people would dress up as black people and make fun of them and make them look stupid etc. But to say that this movie is racist for that reason alone is very simpleminded. Cause even though the guy does put on a blackface, there is not a malicious intent behind it. And he does learn a thing or two about racism himself as the movie progresses. I would probably argue that if anything it's more racist towards whites and perhaps a general white perception of blackness (at least of the time) than it is of blacks. But even that would be a bit of a stretch. Anyways slightly overthinking it here perhaps, as it is in fact not a too serious movie but a comedy. And as a comedy, albeit it has a bit of a rough start it works pretty good. It's no masterpiece or anything and it could have done with some editing cutting it down by 15-20 minutes or so. But overall a decent and fairly harmless watch that does manage to convey a pretty good message while also gathering up some big laughs ocassionally.
Cast & Crew of
Soul Man
Directors & Credit Writers
... First Assistant Director
KG
Karen Golden... Script Supervisor
SBH
Stuart B. Hagen... Second Second Assistant Director
Cast
... Mark Watson
... Sarah Walker
... Gordon Bloomfeld
... Professor Banks
... Whitney Dunbar
... Mr. Dunbar
... Mrs. Dunbar
... Bill Watson
... Dr. Aronson
... Ray McGrady
... Lisa Stimson
... Dorothy Watson
... Barky Brewer
ES
Eric Schiff... Booey Fraser
... Frank
... Brad Small
... Ernie
... Leon
JP
Jerry Pavlon... Bruce Wizansky
... Zendel
Produced By
JAL
Joseph A. Liuzzi... Location Manager
DS
Donna Smith... Production Manager
... Associate Producer
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