Soul Men: Critic Reviews

It's just another grumpy-old-men grousefest with a gooey center, like The Sunshine Boys or The Bucket List. Even its musical nostalgia comes off as more concocted than felt.

Soul Men is a raucous, rambling comedy, offering some laughs, some groans and a feast for fans of the musical idioms it mocks and celebrates.

It doesn't sound like the likeliest pairing, but it works surprisingly well. Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac make a winning duo in the bawdy buddy road-trip picture Soul Men.

Unfortunately, [it's] not good enough to make up for the unnecessary proliferation of Viagra humor, rectal-exam jokes and comedy at the expense of women.

Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac appear to be having a good time, and for most of this raunchy, poorly orchestrated buddy comedy, that's enough.

Though this is far from Mac's most memorable work, his appealing performance will undoubtedly remind the audience how much he'll be missed.

There's nothing here you haven't seen before, but the genuine and infectious chemistry between Mr. Jackson and Mr. Mac and the irresistible energy of their performances is more than enough to give the movie real heft and momentum.

You want a good time? Soul Men will provide it. You want to say goodbye to Bernie Mac? He wants to say goodbye to you.

This one's only fair, but it has its low-down wiles and its moments.

Mac was a magnetic performer with a long history of redeeming mediocre movies; unfortunately this is another one.

So why is this film worth seeing? Because it's an ideal showcase for Mac's peerless comic chops.

Soul Men has soul, but expects too much of its charismatic stars.

There's a raunchy energy to Soul Men that cannot be denied. Even if the film is derivative, predictable, visibly low-budget and crude, it's also darn funny a good deal of the time.

Soul Men is a raucous send-off for the late Bernie Mac, a gleefully profane take on the road-trip movie that earns its R rating early and often.

There's a nice chemistry between Mac and Samuel L. Jackson in this latest variant of the road movie, which contains comedic elements but actually works better as a drama.

Sort of a riff on The Sunshine Boys with hints of Dreamgirls, about all Malcolm D. Lee's relentlessly crass comedy has going for it are some amusing Motown-ish numbers and the chemistry between Mac and his real-life friend Samuel L. Jackson.

Jackson and Mac click. They're perfectly believable as 'funk comrades' from back in the day, polyester princes reduced to asking for the AARP discount when they hit hotels they once trashed in the best rock-star tradition.

Soul Men could have been so much more.

Considering the canvas the story provides, and the richness of the tradition it taps into, the amount and quality of the music is pretty disappointing.

The only good reason to see the otherwise dismal comedy Soul Men is to have a look at the late actor and comedian Bernie Mac in one of his final screen roles.

No one could accuse Soul Men of originality -- it cribs liberally from countless buddy films and road movies -- but it offers enough energy and humor to overcome its shortcomings.

The late Bernie Mac scores big laughs in this raucous, music-filled comedy.

The movie crams in myriad needless subplots -- ostensibly to provide padding, which only draws attention to how thin the original story really is.

Soul Men is a chance to salute these masters of mirth and music. Take it.