Soul Food Critic Reviews

Humor, sentiment and melodrama strike a balance as he brings to life nine major characters and a host of others as well.Read the full review

George Tillman says Soul Food is based in part on his own family, and I believe him, because he seems to know the characters so well; by the film's end, so do we.Read the full review

This new menu movie has a soapy plot, appealing stars, family values, down-home atmosphere and a conviction that there's rarely a problem fried chicken can't cure.Read the full review

Soul Food serves up family melodrama-cum-comedy that's tasty and satisfying, if not particularly profound or original.Read the full review

The result is a lovely wash of humanity, served with affection.Read the full review

Nothing too fancy or ambitious. Instead, writer-director George Tillman Jr. serves up down-home fare that enriches the heart and leaves you satisfied if stuffed. [26Sep1997 Pg.06.D]Read the full review

Soul Food stays a cut above the average melodrama by keeping the characters grounded and the situations from becoming too ripe.Read the full review

In the tradition of such food-as-love films as "Eat Drink Man Woman" and "Big Night", kitchen work is idealized as a form of communion in this indulgently nostalgic story -- deep-fried with plot, script, and character cliches but honey glazed with goodwill...Read the full review