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Soul Man

"He didn't give up, he got down."

1986-10-24 Comedy 1hr 44m

A white prospective grad student's affluent family won't pay his way through law school, so he takes tanning pills to darken his skin in order to qualify for an African-American scholarship at Harvard. He soon gets more than he bargained for, as he begins to learn what life is really like for blacks in America.

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Trailer
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Soul Man
Amazon Video

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Storyline

A white prospective grad student's affluent family won't pay his way through law school, so he takes tanning pills to darken his skin in order to qualify for an African-American scholarship at Harvard. He soon gets more than he bargained for, as he begins to learn what life is really like for blacks in America.

  • Released
    1986-10-24
  • Revenue
    $35,000,000
  • Budget
    $4,500,000
  • Runtime
    1hr 44m
  • Genre
    Comedy
  • Status
    Released
  • Language
    English
  • imdb-logo
    5.3
  • Production
    The Steve Tisch Company

Crew

Steve Miner
Director
Carol Black
Screenplay
Steve Tisch
Producer
Keywords:
scholarship secret identity harvard university college los angeles, california

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Around the Bases

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Cast

C. Thomas Howell

C. Thomas Howell
Mark Watson
Rae Dawn Chong

Rae Dawn Chong
Sarah Walker
Arye Gross

Arye Gross
Gordon Bloomfeld
James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones
Professor Banks
Melora Hardin

Melora Hardin
Whitney Dunbar
Leslie Nielsen

Leslie Nielsen
Mr. Dunbar
Ann Walker

Ann Walker
Mrs. Dunbar
James B. Sikking

James B. Sikking
Bill Watson
Max Wright

Max Wright
Dr. Aronson
Jeff Altman

Jeff Altman
Ray McGrady
Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Lisa Stimson
Maree Cheatham

Maree Cheatham
Dorothy Watson
Wallace Langham

Wallace Langham
Barky Brewer
Eric Schiff

Eric Schiff
Booey Fraser
Ron Reagan

Ron Reagan
Frank
Mark Neely

Mark Neely
Brad Small
David Reynolds

David Reynolds
Ernie
Wolfe Perry

Wolfe Perry
Leon
Jerry Pavlon

Jerry Pavlon
Bruce Wizansky
Laurel Green

Laurel Green
Zendel
John David Bland

John David Bland
Seth
Jonathan 'Fudge' Leonard

Jonathan 'Fudge' Leonard
George Walker
Felix Nelson

Felix Nelson
Mr. Walker
Betty Cole

Betty Cole
Mrs. Walker
Bo Mancuso

Bo Mancuso
Bundy Dunbar
Donald Hotton

Donald Hotton
Mr. Wicher
Linda Hoy

Linda Hoy
Mrs. Sherwood
Robert Burleigh

Robert Burleigh
Bouchard Man
Jonathan Wise

Jonathan Wise
Andrew
Amy Stoch

Amy Stoch
Kim
Paul O'Brien

Paul O'Brien
Officer Schkolnick
M.C. Gainey

M.C. Gainey
Jail Cell Bigot
Freddie Dawson

Freddie Dawson
D.J.

Videos and Photos

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Movie Reviews

Reviews for Soul Man
reviewer avatar

A Review by Dan_Tebasco 6

Written by Dan_Tebasco on 2017-03-20

**Soul Man** Had heard a bit about this movie before I saw it, many times refered to as being racist. In fact COMPLEX MAGAZINE listed it ... read more

**Soul Man** Had heard a bit about this movie before I saw it, many times refered to as being racist. In fact COMPLEX MAGAZINE listed it as number 4 on a 'most racist movies' list they made. Watching it, I must say it's a whole lot less racist than I expected it to be. In fact I wouldn't call it racist at all. It's about a white guy who gets into Harvard but can't afford to go there so he looks for scholarships that he can take but the only one applicable to him is one designed for African Americans. So he fakes being black (with full blackface makeover and a 80's jerrycurl to match) and gets it. There is of course a stigma around blackfaces stemming from early 20th century films where white people would dress up as black people and make fun of them and make them look stupid etc. But to say that this movie is racist for that reason alone is very simpleminded. Cause even though the guy does put on a blackface, there is not a malicious intent behind it. And he does learn a thing or two about racism himself as the movie progresses. I would probably argue that if anything it's more racist towards whites and perhaps a general white perception of blackness (at least of the time) than it is of blacks. But even that would be a bit of a stretch. Anyways slightly overthinking it here perhaps, as it is in fact not a too serious movie but a comedy. And as a comedy, albeit it has a bit of a rough start it works pretty good. It's no masterpiece or anything and it could have done with some editing cutting it down by 15-20 minutes or so. But overall a decent and fairly harmless watch that does manage to convey a pretty good message while also gathering up some big laughs ocassionally.

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)
A Review by Dan_Tebasco

**Soul Man** Had heard a bit about this movie before I saw it, many times refered to as being racist. In fact COMPLEX MAGAZINE listed it as number 4 on a 'most racist movies' list they made. Watching it, I must say it's a whole lot le...

reviewer avatar

A Review by Dan_Tebasco 6

Written by Dan_Tebasco on 2017-03-20

**Soul Man** Had heard a bit about this movie before I saw it, many times refered to as being racist. In fact COMPLEX MAGAZINE listed it as number 4 on a 'most racist movies' list they made. Wat...

read more