Nitro Video Rating:
PURCHASE THE DVD: Soul Food (1997)

While the first hour is an engrossing study of African American family life in the 1990’s, in its third act Soul Food devolves from a class-act character study into a patchwork quilt of sentimentality and phantasmagoria. By the time viewers reach the end credits, most will be likely to forget the likable performances from the cast thanks to a completely absurd ending that makes “storybook” seem downright realistic.

Ostensibly a “lesson movie,” the main through-line for the picture is how the declining health and eventual loss of the family matriarch leads to in-fighting among her children, their spouses, and their extended family. Cousins sleep with cousin’s husbands. Money creates rifts. Etc.

Occasionally funny and no doubt a tearjerker for those who don’t mind wishy-washy docudrama, Soul Food is worth checking out for some excellent performances from the entire cast, chiefly leading ladies Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, and Gina Ravera.

• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Director's Cut, Dolby, Subtitled,
• Widescreen, NTSC
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: April 3, 2001
• Run Time: 114 minutes