Soul Men's censorship blues

(L-R) Bernie Mac, Isaac Hayes & Samuel L. Jackson

8 Apr – "Soul Men" duo Samuel L. Jackson and the late comedian Bernie Mac will show Malaysian audiences the true blues from the 70s starting tomorrow 9 April. Known as Bernie's second last film appearance before his unexpected passing in August 2008 to pneumonia, Cinema Online contest winners got to catch him one last time during a preview screening of the movie held on 6 April 2009, 9.30pm at Cathay Cineleisure Damansara. Although the Malaysian censorship board had a number of inappropriate words and scenes cut out, moviegoers still enjoyed the story and especially the soulful songs from singers like John Legend, Isaac Hayes and many others.

The story hits off with Louis Hinds (Samuel L Jackson) and Floyd Anderson (Bernie Mac) who were once part of the majestic soul group called "The Real Deal" in the 1970s. Years later, they were asked to make a comeback at the funeral of their one-time lead singer (John Legend). Hinds and Anderson hasn't seen each other in 20 years and now would have to put their differences aside, clear their croaky throats and squeeze into their former pants as they embark on their journey to perform at the Apollo Theatre. The film features legendary soul singer Isaac Hayes, who also passed away due to health complications within the same month as Bernie Mac.

After the screening, we asked some of our winners "what did they think of the movie soundtrack, Bernie Mac's performance, and how many stars would they rate it out of five."

Asharaf Mariappan (left): It was quite good except that there were too many cuts in the film, which affected the jokes. I listen to slow songs from the 60s and 70s, so this film caught my attention. I love "You're My Puppet", it's just so catchy! Bernie was very natural and he definitely brought soul to his character. I'd give 4.5 stars!

Anthony Lew: It was a very good movie. As a music lover myself, I listen to soul, jazz and the blues. The film's soundtrack definitely had my taste in music and it was great. Bernie did a wonderful performance as usual but sadly this is his last. Overall, I'd rate it 4 stars!

Chah Jien Shen (right): The movie was alright, just that it had some strict censorship cuts which were quite annoying. The genre of music came across as something fresh for me as I'm not too familiar with it. Mac's performance was very fluent and natural. I'd give 4 stars!

Tan Choon Ling (right): The only downside on watching this film was the cuts, other than that, it's a great film to watch. The story was funny, with good acting coming from all the actors, and it had a good ending. Soundtrack was very classic and I especially enjoyed the song "I'm Your Puppet". I couldn't help but to groove along. 4 stars for this movie!

Cinema Online, 08 April 2009