Mac and Isaac Hayes died on August 9 and 10, 2008, respectively.[3] Director Lee said the film was heavily re-edited to soften the tone of the film, as a tribute to the two actors.
Soul band The Real Deal, which consisted of lead singer Marcus Hooks and backup singers Floyd Henderson and Louis Hinds, were popular back in their time. However, Marcus would eventually leave to strike out on his own as a solo artist while Louis and Floyd had a fallout that leads to them not speaking to each other for the next 30 years. Floyd, who recently retired and transferred his car dealership business to his nephew, was having difficulty adjusting to his new life. He received the news of the passing of Marcus. Louis, an ex-con who became an auto mechanic, was contacted by successful executive Danny Epstein. Danny asked Louis to perform at the Apollo Theater with Floyd as a tribute to Marcus, but Louis declines. As Louis arrived home, he finds Floyd in his apartment. They have a disagreement about going to the concert until Floyd mentions that they will be paid $40,000, which was later revealed to be a lie. Louis would reluctantly agree to travel with Floyd across the country together for the reunion concert. They first stopped and stayed at a hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona.
They perform at the hotel, which turns out to be a disaster. As Floyd and Louis have an argument on stage after the failed performance, they recall the cause of the fallout in the first place involving Floyd sleeping with Louis's girlfriend. The next morning, they stop in the middle of the road after having car trouble. They hear their old song being played on the radio, and they start dancing reminiscing on their time as a group. Then Floyd and Louis performed at another hotel in Amarillo, Texas, and this time it was a success. While having dinner with Louis, Floyd sees a groupie named Rosalee. He leaves with her to his room to have sex as Rosalee removes her dentures.
The following morning, Floyd, still erected from the previous night, appears on the balcony and sees Louis. As Rosalee appears on the balcony with Floyd, Louis also has a much younger woman named Chastity, who appeared to be Rosalee's daughter. Floyd and Louis escapes the hotel when Chastity's father arrive. As they stopped for gas, Floyd and Louis realize they have no money after being robbed by the same two women they each were with. So they contact Phillip, an intern who works for Danny, to provide funding for their trip. Unable to receive anything from Phillip, they arrive in Tulsa, OK at the home of Odetta, the woman they knew when they were younger. They see a man named Lester, a rapper and drug dealer, answers the door. Then they meet Cleo, Odetta's daughter. And she informs them Odetta died of cancer. Floyd and Louis hears a baseline playing in the house, and they see Lester illegally samples one of their old records with his friends Bay-Bay and Zig-Zag. Cleo then ends the argument among the men. One night, Louis sees Cleo singing and playing on her piano, seeing she has musical talent.
The next morning as they ask Cleo if she wants to go to Memphis, Tennessee with them, they see she was physically abused by Lester. Louis then confronts Lester. Lester pulls out a gun but is then manhandled by Louis. Louis forces Lester to apologize to both Floyd and Cleo, then breaks Lester's arm. Floyd, Louis and Cleo meet with Phillip at the hotel in Memphis. After each of Louis and Floyd's reservations were declined due to previous damages they've caused to the hotel years prior, Phillip covers their reservations. Floyd and Louis perform at the hotel, this time with Cleo as their lead singer. Her performance attracts the attention of fellow soul singing legend Isaac Hayes. Lester follows the group to Memphis, and then abducts Phillip. Floyd was about to tell Cleo that he is her father, only to find out that he isn't. Floyd then discovers, according to Cleo, that Louis is actually her father. And a physical altercation ensues between Floyd and Louis over the matter. Louis stated after the fight that it was a bad idea to be in Cleo's life because he ruined his own. Cleo, hearing his statement, runs away in tears. Lester tried to confront Louis and Floyd in retaliation but is subdued by both. Floyd and Louis are then arrested.
Floyd is released, but Louis stays in custody due to his parole violation. Floyd later breaks Louis out under the belief that he was dying. They track down Bay-Bay and Zig-Zag, who were with Lester when he tried to confront them earlier. They steal their car as they are fugitives of the law. As they're driving to New York for their concert, they discovered Phillip was stuffed in the trunk the whole time. Phillip contacts Danny about The Real Deal still on their way to perform. However, Phillip is fired, and Floyd and Louis were removed from the show. They still attend the Apollo Theater for their performance. After arriving, Floyd convinces Danny to let them back in the show, confiding that Louis is dying. Isaac Hayes greets them at their dressing room and surprises them with Cleo appearing. As Louis and Cleo reconcile, Louis experiences pain in the abdomen.
What was believed to be life threatening, Louis reveals he just has a kidney stone. When the police arrived at the theater, Louis and Floyd runs into hiding, unaware they were hiding in a piano shaped casket where Marcus's body lays. The casket opens, and Floyd and Louis steps out on to the stage to perform their hit "Walk In the Park", once again with Cleo before being taken back into police custody. An epilogue reads that after Floyd and Louis were released on good behavior, they went back touring with Cleo as their new lead singer, and Phillip as their new manager.
Bernie Mac on the set of the film in March 2008Jackson and Mac with Gabe Witcher prerecording songs for the film in December 2007
Soul Men received mixed reviews from film critics. Based on 100 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes reported that 45% of critics gave the film a positive review stating that "Soul Men features lively performances from Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson, and some hilarious moments, but ultimately suffers from an unoriginal script."[5]Metacritic, another review aggregator, reported that critics gave the film an average score of 49/100, based on 23 reviews.[6]Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times gave the Soul Men three stars out of a possible four, saying it "will make you miss Bernie Mac" and also allowed Mac to hint at talent with dramatic roles that the comedian rarely had a chance to explore.[7]
Director Malcolm D. Lee said the movie was a box office failure because "nobody gave a shit about two old R&B singers."[9]
Lawsuit
In February 2009, singer Sam Moore of the musical duo Sam & Dave filed suit against The Weinstein Company and other producers. Moore alleged copyright infringement on the marks "Soul Man" and "Soul Men", claiming the movie is based on the careers of Sam & Dave who did not speak for years after a feud, and had a major hit with the 1967 song "Soul Man". The suit also claimed the film damaged Moore's reputation and career. The judge agreed there were "broad similarities" between Moore's life and the film's story, but also noted Moore was not named in the film and there no evidence the film was ever confused with reality. Thus, the case was dismissed on summary judgment in May 2012.[10]
Home media
The film was released on DVD on February 10, 2009 and by the 5th week, about 483,360 units have been sold, bringing in $9,443,721 in revenue. This does not include Blu-ray Disc sales.[11]
