Soul Plane was a movie that came and went as fast as a trip from LA to
NY. Since the filmed failed to do well at the box office, I was
surprised when I reviewed the movie at how funny it actually is. Now don't get
me wrong, Soul Plane isn't a classic comedy like Caddy Shack or
American Pie, however silly, stupid films can sometimes be wonderful.
The whole premise of the film begins when Nashawn (Kevin Hart) suffers
emotional and physical harm including getting his ass stuck in a toliet
seat and more importantly loses his pet during a flight and sues and
wins big. He decides to use the money from the lawsuit to start up an
airline aimed at the soul community.
The film isn't afraid to make fun of itself and offers up big laughs
from a multitude of stars including rap icons Method Man, as Nashawn's
incompetant but loveable cousin and Snoop Dogg as the captain of the
plane as well as comics such as Tom Arnold, who gives one of his better
performances, and D.L. Hughley as a bathroom attendant. The airplane is
lavish with business and first class looking more like a nightclub than
an airplane and economy getting really ghetto with old televisions and
cramped seating. The set on this movie is even hillarious.
It's hard to describe how funny a film is without ruining it. However
Snoop Dogg's role has to be the best he has ever done and had me
laughing out loud for several minutes as I took double takes on what I thought
he said and discovered he did say. It's revealed that he learned all
his flight school training on simulators in prison and has never even
been up in the sky! Let's not forget that he spends much of the film
smoking dope while the autopilot does the work.
Soul Plane is a stupid film for people who love stupidity. There's
plenty of funny lines in the movie and it doesnt cut itself off from the
general movie audience by being only a "black" film. Anyone who loves
comedy should at least give it a try.
The Disc:
MGM brings home this special Mile High edition with a very respectable
1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen version. The sounds in the movie are not
quite impressive, especially for an airplane based flick, but they are
certainly adequate.
Being an unrated Mile High edition, MGM has went in and added over six
minutes of addition footage not seen in the theater. Extras also
include Commentary by Tom Arnold, Kevin Hart, Gary Anthony Williams,
Godfrey, and director Jessy Terrero which is simply fantastic. These
guys had a great time making this film and Kevin Hart is quickly becoming
one of my new favorite actors. Tom gets to be a lil too much here,
trying to dominate, but he's pretty funny for most of his commentary.
Next up is a couple of featurettes, "Boarding Pass", which is
your standard making of feature and "The Upgrade" which talks
about the DVD. If the audio comments weren't enough for you, there's also
a Cast Video Commentary, which is not as deep or funny but might
appeal to those wanting to see the people comment on the film.
Lastly comedies always have bloopers, outtakes and deleted scenes to
share and you'll find plenty on the disc. Some of these I think should
have made it on the cut and others should have been dumped for good
reason. There's also a photo gallery which I especially liked for
being able to check out the airplane all over again.
bottom line:
I really laughed harder than I expected and enjoyed the hints of
romance that were added to give the film a little substance. Snoop Dogg alone
makes this worth viewing and fans of dumb comedies should definitely
check it out.
4 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
