Soul Man (1986)

To achieve his dream of attending Harvard, a pampered teen poses as a young black man to receive a full scholarship.

Director:

Steve Miner

Writer:

Carol Black

Stars:

C. Thomas Howell, Rae Dawn Chong, Arye Gross

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
C. Thomas Howell	...	Mark Watson
Rae Dawn Chong	...	Sarah Walker
Arye Gross	...	Gordon Bloomfeld
James Earl Jones	...	Professor Banks
Melora Hardin	...	Whitney Dunbar
Leslie Nielsen	...	Mr. Dunbar
Ann Walker	...	Mrs. Dunbar
James Sikking	...	Bill Watson (as James B. Sikking)
Max Wright	...	Dr. Aronson
Jeff Altman	...	Ray McGrady
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Lisa Stimson
Maree Cheatham	...	Mrs. Dorothy Watson (as Marie Cheatham)
Wallace Langham	...	Barky Brewer (as Wally Ward)
Eric Schiff	...	Booey Fraser
Ron Reagan	...	Frank

Storyline

Mark doesn't expect any problems in going to college: he and his friend have reserved places in Harvard and his parents have the money to pay for his education there. But suddenly his father's neurotic psychiatrist advises him to go on vacation in Hawaii instead of spending more money on his son. Since Mark wants to keep his lifestyle, including a fancy car and a flat shared with his friend, he seeks financial support. The only foundation which still accepts applications is for blacks only -- no problem, with lots of bronzing pills and "soul in his voice" he sets out to Harvard. Soon he has to realize that being black will cause some people to handle him differently.

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Plot Keywords:

white man as black man | racial stereotype | passing for black | white pretending to be black | white male pretending to be black | 

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Taglines:

Guess who's coming to college?

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 October 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Imposter

Filming Locations:

Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$27,820,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Balcor Film Investors,The Steve Tisch Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

C. Thomas Howell's father, Chris Howell, did the stunts for this movie.

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Goofs

About fifteen minutes into the picture, Mark and Gordon are seen traveling up Mass. Ave. in Cambridge, adjacent to the Harvard campus, and suddenly, they're not on Mass. Ave. anymore, they're on Quincy St., a couple blocks away. Then, just as suddenly, they're right back on Mass Ave., again proceeding through Harvard Square, just as they were before.

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Quotes

Mark Watson: What's happening, brother? Get down, get down. Looking good, mamma, looking good. Well, I gots to be going now!

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Connections

References Food Fight (1983)

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Soundtracks

Suddenly It's Magic
By Amy Sue Reichardt (as Amy La Television) & Willie Wilcox
Performed by Vesta Williams
Courtesy of A&M Records, Inc.

User Reviews

great & brilliant but highly under-rated

its a shame that such an exceptional movie has got an abysmally low rating of less than 5..even after more than 3500 reviews! everything is almost perfect about this picture: casting, story, direction, acting, dialogues, music, overt & subtle social references, humour,thought & intelligence as well as intellectual depth, sense of history...everything. the characters were very endearing even though some were a bit stereotypical but not off the mark and cinematic liberty is important,isn't it! the climax was a bit simplistic and short but still full marks for pulling it off without hiccups.its sad too that such movies are not being made these days. full 10 out of 10 for such a great thinking movie as well as an entertainer!!