‘Soul Men’ tribute to Mac’s genius
We know we’ve lost Bernie Mac. And it takes only about 10 minutes of his next-to-last screen appearance, in “Soul Men,” to show us just what we’ve lost.
Nobody could go bug-eye to bug-eye, toe to toe and “mofo” to “mofo” with the great Samuel L. Jackson like Bernie Mac.
“Soul Men” is a shaggy, indifferently directed road comedy that benefits from inspired casting – pairing Jackson with Mac as two has-been soul singers – and a sad afterglow. Mac died this past winter at 50.
Mac is Floyd Henderson, one third of The Real Deal, a soul trio from the ’60s and ’70s. Floyd retired from music and built a lucrative car-wash empire. Now, he’s been put out to pasture from that too.
Louis Hinds (Jackson) was the other backup singer in The Real Deal. He took a different route to retirement – bank robbery, prison time, a job in a garage.
When Marcus Hooks, the lead singer, dies, Floyd is summoned to perform at the funeral. He senses “comeback.” First, he’s got to lure Louis back. And there’s bad blood for them to get over.
But there’s money involved, so they pile into the “Muthaship” (a lime green ’70s Cadillac El Dorado) and set out cross country, doing just enough gigs to grind the rust off, grab a few groupies (Jennifer Coolidge of “American Pie”) and visit an old flame’s daughter (Sharon Leal).
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.
– By Roger Moore, The Orlando Sentinel
“Role Models”
Like some cinematic version of Siamese twins, “Role Models” is made up of two distinct halves. One is a light comedy that generates laughs despite mining familiar territory. The other is an offensive, lame and painful attempt at humor.
Paul Rudd, the film world’s version of sand in a bathing suit, and Seann William Scott, cinema’s answer to Urkel, play Danny and Wheeler, co-workers who end up in legal trouble. Lucky for Danny his girlfriend, Beth (Elizabeth Banks), is a lawyer. She convinces the courts to allow the guys to do 150 hours of community service instead of 30 days in jail.
The pair becomes part of a mentoring program run by Gayle Sweeny (Jane Lynch).
The guys are paired with two of the program’s toughest subjects. And this is where the film goes in opposite directions.
Danny must deal with Augie Farks (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) the poster boy for nerds.
Wheeler’s kid is Ronnie (Bobb’e J. Thompson), the biggest movie stereotype to come along in years. He’s a 12-year-old black kid with anger issues.
In the end, the two halves of the film work against each other in attempting to generate laughs. The best thing that can happen is that this movie becomes a cautionary tale that keeps future filmmakers from making the same mistakes.
– By Rick Bentley, McClatchy News
“Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”
A giraffe in love with a hippo, a zebra with an identity crisis, a lion desperate to win his newfound daddy’s respect – the makers of “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” could have plunked their heroes down in a therapist’s office.
Instead, they maroon them on the African mainland for what amounts to more of the same: a shrill retread of the 2005 animated hit “Madagascar.”
Voice stars Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith return, along with Sacha Baron Cohen and Cedric the Entertainer.
Whether or not they’ve seen or remember the original flick, young kids will eat up this manic mess, a nonstop rush of slapstick and jabbering dialogue. The noise and mayhem will annoy most parents, who can take some solace in the movie’s brisk running time.
– By David Germain, Associated Press