Jamie runs out of the restaurant in pursuit of Samantha. But Patrick doesn’t think it was the horror franchise part of the speech that had such an affect on her. It seemed to him that her face changed a little before that. How could his Keys to Love have missed so badly that the mere mention of something destroyed everything? Was there some flaw in the four keys that he hadn’t foreseen? Patrick counts on his fingers real quick. 1. The eyes are the windows to the soul (A.K.A. stylez=smilez). 2. Get all the feels (A.K.A. only the firmest handshake) 3. A rose by any other smell (A.K.A. cologne for days) 4. Putting (meats and cheeses) on the Ritz (cracker) (A.K.A. a very 2003 Celtics themed dinner). That seemed like everything… what could he be missing? Suddenly he becomes aware that Kyle is saying something. Despite the high likelihood this is about mannequins or is largely irrelevant, Patrick stops Kyle just in case. But as he’s about to let him know that he was not listening to whatever mannequin mambo jumbo he was going on about, his mouth goes dry. “I wasn’t listening,” he mutters. Kyle is hurt. He was very proud of his latest advancement in mannequin technology and while perhaps this wasn’t the most opportune moment to discuss it, it was still important to him. “Of course you weren’t,” he scoffs, “You guys never listen.” Suddenly the same thought Patrick had dawns on him. “My God, we have been missing a vital fifth lesson this whole time,” Patrick says, writing furiously in his notebook. Kyle and him rush out to catch Jamie to warn him about “Lesson #5: The ears are also the windows to the soul, man.” That’s right! We are watching Soul Man, the 80’s comedy about a guy who puts on black face to get a scholarship to Harvard… wait, that can’t be right. No, not the plot. I know that’s the plot of the film. It just can’t be right that we’re watching it. To pair with that we are blessedly cleansing the palate with Meatballs III: Summer Job, also known as a VHS special. Let’s go!
Soul Man (1986) – BMeTric: 41.1; Notability: 38
StreetCreditReport.com – BMeTric: top 4.4%; Notability: top 9.2%; Rotten Tomatoes: top 9.1%; Higher BMeT: Howard the Duck, Troll, King Kong Lives, Police Academy 3: Back in Training, Maximum Overdrive, Solarbabies, Raw Deal, Sorority House Massacre, Firewalker, Club Paradise, Iron Eagle; Higher Notability: Howard the Duck, Poltergeist II: The Other Side, The Golden Child, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Invaders from Mars, A Fine Mess, Ratboy, Solarbabies, Raw Deal, Police Academy 3: Back in Training, Club Paradise, Armed and Dangerous, The Clan of the Cave Bear, Cobra, Iron Eagle, Wildcats, No Mercy, Blue City, The Best of Times, The Delta Force, and 3 more; Lower RT: 8 Million Ways to Die, Solarbabies, Sorority House Massacre, Band of the Hand, Deadtime Stories, American Anthem, Blue City, Nobody’s Fool, Firewalker, King Kong Lives, Armed and Dangerous, Haunted Honeymoon, TerrorVision, The Clan of the Cave Bear, Dangerously Close, Club Paradise, Quicksilver, Howard the Duck, Maximum Overdrive, Tai-Pan, and 1 more; Notes: It is profoundly disturbing that this film played on television 59 times in the 90s … but it does explain why I’ve seen it several times. King Kong Lives played 30 times, which seems insane. Again, 7 out of the top 10 BMeT, but we have seen the top 7, so that’s something. Meatballs III on the other hand? An astonishing 14 times on cable. Incredible stuff.
Roger Ebert – 1 star – Although the premise of “Soul Man” has been greeted with widespread derision, it actually has a lot of potential – even if it has been made into a lame-brained movie. … Howell seems to have wandered in from a teen comedy; there is never a moment when I felt he was really experiencing the feelings in this movie. Not even when he gets to feeling so black that he tosses around a symbolic basketball and confesses he doesn’t like the Beach Boys so much anymore.
(Kind of amazingly tepid review for a one star. I do understand the sentiment though. Howell is the weakest link in the film, it is very hard to feel like he’s changed in an appreciable way. Just watch the “trial” scene!)
Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2zMrjBLwn8/
(Should I make that beginning a gif so like when I’m super happy about something? Naw, I don’t want to send people a gif of half naked C. Thomas Howell. His terrible wig is INSANE. I can’t believe we are watching this.)
Directors – Steve Miner – ( Known For: Halloween H20: 20 Years Later; Lake Placid; Forever Young; House; Warlock; Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken; Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous; Here Come the Tigers; Future BMT: My Father the Hero; Big Bully; BMT: Friday the 13th Part 2; Friday the 13th: Part 3; Soul Man; Texas Rangers; Notes: The only person to have filmed two Friday the 13th films. Also nominated 2 Primetime Emmys for directing and producing The Wonder Years.)
Writers – Carol Black – ( BMT: Soul Man; Notes: I guess not surprisingly was also involved in The Wonder Years. She won for it in 1988 just prior to Miner coming on.)
Actors – C. Thomas Howell – ( Known For: The Amazing Spider-Man; E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; The Outsiders; Hidalgo; Red Dawn; The Hitcher; Old Dads; Gettysburg; Woodlawn; LBJ; The Return of the Musketeers; Hitman’s Run; That Night; Side Out; Grandview, U.S.A.; Attack of the Killer Donuts; The Hillside Strangler; Storm Rider; Hoboken Hollow; Far Out Man; Future BMT: Secret Admirer; Reagan; Tank; BMT: Gods and Generals; Soul Man; Notes: It is absolutely no surprise he was in Reagan. He actually got married to Rae Dawn Chong in real life, although it didn’t last very long.)
Rae Dawn Chong – ( Known For: Commando; The Color Purple; Jeff, Who Lives at Home; Quest for Fire; Tales from the Darkside: The Movie; Crying Freeman; The Principal; American Flyers; Fear City; Cheech & Chong’s: The Corsican Brothers; Beat Street; Choose Me; The Borrower; City Limits; Far Out Man; When the Party’s Over; Shiver; Time Runner; Cyrus; Highball; Future BMT: Hideaway; The Squeeze; BMT: Soul Man; Notes: Tommy Chong’s daughter. Apparently discovered Chris Pratt while he was a waiter.)
Arye Gross – ( Known For: Minority Report; Tequila Sunrise; Just One of the Guys; A Midnight Clear; For the Boys; Mother Night; Big Eden; Exterminator 2; The Experts; Coupe de Ville; Seven Girlfriends; Nostalgia; Timelock; Spoiler; Big City Blues; The Prince and the Surfer; The Elevator; Shaking the Tree; A Matter of Degrees; Future BMT: House II: The Second Story; The Couch Trip; Hexed; The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them; BMT: Gone in 60 Seconds; Soul Man; Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike; Notes: This is maybe the craziest trivia I’ve ever seen on IMDb: Provided the voice of Lando Calrissian in the NPR version of The Return of the Jedi.)
Budget/Gross – $4.5 million / Domestic: $27,820,000 (Worldwide: $27,820,000)
(This is a huge success. Jesus, what would the sequel be … I think it would be that he’s now a judge and he is getting groomed to sit on the Supreme Court, but then he hears that actually the President is only considering a woman for the opening. Well that gives him an idea …)
Rotten Tomatoes – 17% (4/24): Critics had a whole lot less than a truckload of good loving for this woefully misguided take on race in ’80s America.
(What the hell is Rotten Tomatoes doing with the recap? That is a bizarre consensus. It barely makes sense.)
NYTimes Description: Steve Miner’s fast comedy about a young white man masquerading as a black student in order to get a scholarship to Harvard.
Poster – Sklog Man
(Christ. I mean sure. That entirely avoids the conceit of the film… probably should have taken that as a sign that they were not on the right track.Still, I like the framing and the font OK. C.)
Tagline(s) – Guess who’s coming to college? (D)
(C. Thomas Howell? Yeah, what’s the big whoop? Horrible.)
Keyword(s) – 1983-1991
Top 10: The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Back to the Future (1985), Goodfellas (1990), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), Die Hard (1988), The Terminator (1984), Scarface (1983), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Future BMT: 72.7 Look Who’s Talking Too (1990), 72.5 Teen Wolf Too (1987), 67.8 Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983), 61.1 Staying Alive (1983), 59.0 Suburban Commando (1991), 58.2 Child’s Play 3 (1991), 58.2 Amityville 3-D (1983), 57.7 The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990), 57.5 Ghost Dad (1990), 56.7 The Karate Kid Part III (1989), 55.1 Rocky V (1990), 54.7 Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), 53.5 Graffiti Bridge (1990), 52.4 Johnny Be Good (1988), 52.4 Porky’s II: The Next Day (1983), 52.3 Porky’s Revenge (1985), 52.2 Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), 51.8 Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), 49.2 King Solomon’s Mines (1985), 48.6 My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988)
BMT: Jaws: The Revenge (1987), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), Troll 2 (1990), Jaws 3-D (1983), Highlander II: The Quickening (1991), Going Overboard (1989), Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989), Mac and Me (1988), Caddyshack II (1988), Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), Howard the Duck (1986), Supergirl (1984), Cool as Ice (1991), Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985), The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987), Leonard Part 6 (1987), Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989), Superman III (1983), Poltergeist III (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989), Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987), Wild Orchid (1989), …
Best Options (Comedy): 72.7 Look Who’s Talking Too (1990), 72.5 Teen Wolf Too (1987), 67.8 Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983), 59.0 Suburban Commando (1991), 57.5 Ghost Dad (1990), 54.7 Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), 52.4 Johnny Be Good (1988), 52.4 Porky’s II: The Next Day (1983), 52.3 Porky’s Revenge (1985), 52.2 Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), 51.8 Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), 49.2 King Solomon’s Mines (1985), 48.6 My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988), 47.2 Big Top Pee-wee (1988), 47.2 Transylvania 6-5000 (1985), 44.8 King Ralph (1991), 43.7 Firewalker (1986), 43.6 Young Einstein (1988), 43.3 Deal of the Century (1983), 42.3 Shocker (1989), 42.0 Club Paradise (1986), 41.9 House II: The Second Story (1987), 41.8 Pink Cadillac (1989), 41.6 Loose Cannons (1990), 41.3 Speed Zone (1989), 41.0 Soul Man (1986), …
(Teen Wolf Too would have been a good choice. But man, we really couldn’t leave Soul Man on the table. It is just so nuts.)
Welcome to Earf (HoE Number 21) – The shortest path through The Movie Database cast lists using only BMT films is: C. Thomas Howell is No. 1 billed in Soul Man and No. 5 billed in Gods and Generals, which also stars Robert Duvall (No. 3 billed) who is in Days of Thunder (No. 2 billed) which also stars Michael Rooker (No. 6 billed) who is in Here on Earth (No. 4 billed) => (1 + 5) + (3 + 2) + (6 + 4) = 21. If we were to watch The Squeeze, One Good Cop, and Two for the Money we can get the HoE Number down to 17.
Notes – C. Thomas Howell had to wear colored contacts when his skin was toned to look black. His eyes are normally a goldish color and really stood out once his skin was darkened.
C. Thomas Howell’s father, Chris Howell, did the stunts for this movie.
C. Thomas Howell and Rae Dawn Chong met on the set of this film, married, and later divorced.
Tim Robbins was cast in the lead, but dropped out when the filming of Howard the Duck (1986) went over schedule.
The house where Mark has dinner with the Dunbars was a set that was later donated to the California Institute of the Arts and is used by students for filming.
Bad Movie Twins 