Soul Food is a 1997 American comedy-drama film written and directed by George Tillman Jr. in his major studio debut.
Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer, Jeffrey D. Sams, Irma P. Hall, Gina Ravera and Brandon Hammond.
Life becomes complicated when Mother Joe, the diabetic but wise and caring matriarch of the family and the glue that holds it together, suffers a debilitating stroke during an operation to amputate her leg and slips into a coma, dying shortly after sharing a last word of advice with Ahmad when she awakens five weeks later.
The two are caught having sex by Teri, which later leads to a near-violent confrontation at Kenny and Maxine's anniversary party when she furiously comes after the two with a knife.
The fighting between Teri and Maxine soon causes the Sunday dinners to stop and the Joseph family tradition to be broken after forty years due to the ongoing tensions.
Throughout all this, Ahmad becomes worried about the state of his extended family and, following Big Mama's passing conspires to find a way to bring them all back together.
Ahmad tells his relatives about a stash of money that Big Mama had hidden away some time ago but everyone dismisses him, believing it to be a myth.
As Maxine comforts her son, the kitchen catches on fire due to Ahmad having accidentally left a towel on the stove, and they all work together to try and to put it out.
The character Miles (Michael Beach) plays keyboards in an R&B group called "Milestone"; the vocalists of the group are portrayed by two sibling teams of professional R&B performers: brothers K-Ci and Jo-Jo Hailey (of Jodeci and K-Ci & JoJo); and Babyface and his brothers Kevon Edmonds and Melvin Edmonds (both of After 7).
The site's consensus reads, "Much like its titular cuisine, Soul Food blends a series of savory ingredients to offer warm, generous helpings of nourishment and comfort".
[7] Godfrey Cheshire of Variety magazine wrote: "Soul Food serves up family melodrama-cum-comedy that's tasty and satisfying, if not particularly profound or original.