Themes: Class Differences, Fighting the System, Culture Clash
Main Cast: John Witherspoon, Kevin Hart, Tom Arnold, Method Man, Snoop Dogg, K.D. Aubert
Release Year: 2004
Country: US
Run Time: 86 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
After an excruciatingly humiliating in-flight experience that culminated in a messy breakup and the untimely death of a dog, Nashawn Wade (Kevin Hart) sues the airline for all it's worth. This turns out to be a more than profitable move on his part; the lawsuit brings him a settlement in the hefty amount of 600 million dollars. Eager to prevent his experience from happening to another -- and perfectly willing to reap the financial benefits of the cash cow he believes his plan to be -- Nashawn decides to launch NWA, an all African American airline complete with sensuous stewardesses, an onboard dance club, and a bathroom attendant. Far be it from giving "flying the friendly skies" a new meaning, however, chaos ensues in the form of a white family with the unfortunate last name of Hunkee. The Hunkee patriarch (as played by Tom Arnold) and his antics prevent the flight from going as smoothly as intended. The feature debut of music video director Jessy Tererro, urban comedy regulars Snoop Dogg and Method Man co-star. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
Review
Soul Plane's concept is a pretty simple one -- an urbanized take on Airplane! featuring some of the hottest rappers, stars, or rappers-turned-stars than any airline ever had seating for! Well, as this movie proves, concept can only take you so far in the world of comedy. There are definitely some laughs in this sucker, but far and wide, the majority of the gags fall flat rather than actually sticking. Plenty of talent was obviously gathered, with each King or Queen of Comedy throwing their back out with their deliveries, it's just that they deserve better material than what they're given. Also obvious is that director Jessy Terrero needs more time behind the camera and in front of the classics before he truly understands how to pull off even the smallest of gags from the anemic script. There are a few points where it's shocking how bad the staging and pacing of certain jokes are -- and this is physical comedy, folks! You either do it right or don't do it at all. What genius that's there lies mostly in the production design and set decoration of the Soul Plane itself. From the ghetto overhead locker compartments in the low-class section to the outrageous club on the top floor, the plane deserves every laugh that it will surely get. Yes, it's a breezy time at the movies and you will laugh from time to time -- the fact still remains that Soul Plane has more missed opportunities than slam-dunks. With a tighter script, less wandering ad-libbing, and a stronger focus on exactly what the film was before it was cast, this could've been a laugh riot. If you buy a ticket, just don't be surprised if it's a bumpy flight. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Jeff Wallace - Art Director, Rick Johnson - Associate Producer, Georgianne Walken - Casting, Sheila Jaffe - Casting, Ulysses Terrero - Casting, Shawn Barton - Costume Designer, Rick Johnson - First Assistant Director, Jessy Terrero - Director, Michael R. Miller - Editor, Paul Hall - Executive Producer, Bo Zenga - Executive Producer, Todd Lewis - Line Producer, Chris Lennertz - Composer (Music Score), RZA - Composer (Music Score), Melodee Sutton - Musical Direction/Supervision, Robb Buono - Production Designer, Jonathan Sela - Cinematographer, David Scott Rubin - Producer, Jessy Terrero - Producer, Tracy A. Doyle - Set Designer, Craig Woods - Sound/Sound Designer, Billy Washington - Stunts Coordinator, Bo Zenga - Screenwriter, Chuck Wilson - Screenwriter, David D. Johnson - Visual Effects Supervisor, David Wadley - Supervising Sound Editor, Pacific Vision Productions Inc. - Visual Effects, Robert Gould - Set Decorator
During the first flight of the fictional airline, Nashawn is trying to deal with a multitude of problems. His pilot, Captain Mack (Snoop Dogg), is afraid of heights. He has never left the ground because he learned to fly in prison. As Nashawn learns this, he asks him who his "flying buddies" are which Captain Mack told him were from the Air Force. Captain Mack then shows him a picture of him with Taliban members with arabian style music in the background. Meanwhile, his cousin Muggsey (Method Man), is setting up a miniature casino and strip joint in one of the areas on the plane (as seen in the workprint and unrated versions of the film), and Nashawn's ex-girlfriend is on board and less than happy to see him. The Hunkee family also appear to have problems in the movie; Elvis Hunkee's (Tom Arnold) daughter is turning eighteen and plans to allegedly use the newfound freedom by drinking and having sex, his son has transformed in a matter of seconds from an exact duplicate to acting like a stereotypical African American, and his girlfriend has found a new interest in black men after viewing pictures in a pornographic magazine.
The pilot seemingly dies, after eating mushrooms that the co-pilot uses to soothe his genital crabs. Nashawn then attempts to contact the co-pilot, who is incapacitated after slipping on the water located around the hot tub, forcing Nashawn to attempt to land the plane himself. Nashawn lands the plane safely, using the airplane stewardess' flight knowledge learned while having sex in the cockpit with the pilot on another flight, in the middle of Central Park only to have the spinners stolen from the plane. He then gets back together with his ex-girlfriend after earlier revealing to her that he only broke up with her so she wouldn't give up her college opportunities for him. The pilot soon after wakes up, and realizes that he is on the plane alone and was mugged while sleeping.
The movie ends with the Nashawn telling the audience the fate of his crew. He claims that he and his ex-girlfriend are back together taking their relationship slow this time around, his cousin Muggsey has started a strip club and gambling casino located in an airplane similar to the club in Nashawn's plane, Elvis Hunkee has begun a sexual relationship with one of the abrasive airline security guards (Mo'Nique), and Elvis Hunkee's son has become a major music video director but has disappeared shortly after filming a Michael Jackson video (this references the child molestation charges that had been filed against Michael Jackson in both 1993 and 2003).
Most of the reviews of this movie have been negative, due to its stereotypical portrayal of black culture. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 17% saying that "It offers nothing but degrading stereotypes and repulsive toilet humor".
