Picking up where the first season left off, the Joseph sisters–fiery Maxine (Vanessa Williams, formerly of Melrose Place), controlling yet vulnerable Teri (Nicole Ari Parker, Remember the Titans), and the baby of the family, Bird (Malinda Williams, Daddy’s Little Girls)–cope with the wake of a car crash that has left Maxine’s husband Kenny (Rockmond Dunbar, Prison Break) in the hospital, while Bird’s ex-con husband Lem (Darrin Dewitt Henson, Stomp the Yard) blames Teri’s boyfriend Damon (Boris Kodjoe, Brown Sugar) for causing the accident. From there, the series settles into its turbulent groove: Kenny finds himself drawn to his secretary at the towing company; Teri fights to be made partner at her law firm; Bird and Lem fight over the significance of visiting a strip club; Maxine gets into local politics; Lem’s store burns down and Lem is accused of arson; Teri suffers from worsening panic attacks; and Kenny and Maxine’s son Ahmad (Image award-winner Aaron Meeks) wrestles with school, adolescence, and the fallibility of his parents. The recurring theme, of course, is family obligations–what siblings owe to each other, what parents owe to their children (and children to their parents, as Kenny and Lem each struggle to make peace with their flawed forbears), what husbands and wives owe to each other. The commitment to these characters’ interconnectedness, explored with sincerity and care by the solid cast, is what makes Soul Food more than just a depiction of middle-class life.
In related news, BET J has been airing old episodes of Soul Food: The Series for months now. Make sure you tune in Mondays thru Fridays @ 11pm EST.
[feels good 2 b home]
[feels good 2 b home]
