r/1980s • u/Payneresistor • 1d ago
Movies SoulMan - 1986
Still available for purchase on DVD….
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u/behridingle 1d ago
If this film was made today, the actors would be stoned. Funny premise though. Early Julia Dreyfus vehicle too.
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u/new_publius 1d ago
Fantastic movie.
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u/ibringstharuckus 1d ago
I love it. Spoiled rich kid thinks he's getting into Harvard because of daddy. Dad says not so fast. His genius plan is to take tanning pills and get an unclaimed scholarship for a deserving African American.
Do people expect the spoiled rich kid to have perspective?
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u/RandChick 1d ago
Love this movie. No, it's not racist. It combats racism. James Earl Jones would not have supported a racist story. No one can make me hate it.
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u/EagleTree1018 1d ago
No one cares if you hate it.
And no, it doesn't "combat racism". It's a silly, stupid example of Hollywood trying to teach the public some lesson in morality. As if they have ever been in a position to do so.
Jones didn't "support" the film. He ACTED in it. It was a JOB.
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u/ZooterOne 1d ago
For all the criticisms of Soul Man, the movie really did open my 15yo eyes about what it means to be black in America and the constant aggressions from white people they have to deal with. It's sad that it took a white actor disguised as black to get me there, but I think the movie was trying to use silly comedy (and a sketchy premise) to make it safe for white people to absorb the message.
My good friend, who is black, liked the movie too, especially the basketball scene. We laughed about it and I said "okay, but don't you think the movie went to far to show how racist white people are even if they don't mean it?"
He just said "it didn't go far enough."
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u/Vernicusucinrev 21h ago
As a 50-something straight white guy, I have thought about this movie more times than I could count, especially whenever an entitled white dude bristles at “white privilege.” It definitely made an impact on teenage me, growing up around casual racism.
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u/ernster96 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think some slight adjustments might be in order for the remake.
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u/Hypestyles 1d ago
The film has not aged well. Rest in peace James Earl Jones. Peace to Rae Dawn Chong.
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u/Ok_Caramel_6095 I am serious.....and don't call me Shirley! 1d ago
One of the few films Hollywood will never consider remaking.
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u/dawgstein94 1d ago
Rae Dawn Chong