SOTB!!!'s WITRB Review: Soul Plane
Often cannon fodder for "elevated black folk" and others, the 2004 film Soul Plane has been shat on by a variety of people. But...is the disdain warranted? That's where I come in.
It's me, once again, the guy who didn't want to set the world on fire and just wanted to set a flame in your heart, Speed on the Beat back with another "WIRTB Review." When Soul Plane came out, I went to go see it within weeks of its release. I mean, it was a black film, with a laundry list of black talent, and I was on my "Method Man is high-larious" shit (something that continued with the potential in Method & Red and on to this day).
The premise is simple: Nashawn Wade (played by Kevin Hart) has the worst airline experience ever. He has his dog killed by the airline (something about the dog getting sucked through a jet engine because he was labelled as checked baggage), gets the bubbleguts, and almost gets his soul sucked out (that sounded less awkward in my head) when he gets stuck in a toilet. Because of this, he earns some Goldmember-level cash ($100 million) and opens his own airline.
The airline is called "NWA" and flies a plane that has spinners and hydraulics.
Yep.
Anyhow, the bulk of the movie takes place on the airplane, like...Airplane!, except less funny. Many of the laughs come from situations that are "unexpected" or "beat-you-over-the-head" obvious/stereotypical. For instance, there's a white family in the film, the Hunkees (I guess because "The Niggar Family" was still a thing, but at least Chappelle was funny). Surprise! The son's a wigger. The mom eventually wants some BBC (there's a scene where she's all but getting moist over some black guy in boxers). The daughter is a rebellious teenager who wants to work, drink, fuck, and sleep (hey Raven), without the working or sleeping. And the dad's all anal retentive until he (post-script) gets his jollies off with Mo'Nique because Queen Latifah wasn't free to play the street-wise black woman who turns the old white man out. The "gay" stewart is named "Flame." There's a scene about someone of "Middle Eastern descent" possibly being a terrorist. The pilot of the plane, played by Snoop Dogg, is SURPRISE AGAIN unable to really fly the plane, since he's:
a) never flown a real plane before
b) is high off his ass (and presumed dead) halfway through the movie, because it's Snoop Dogg and no one would ever expect Snoop to be high.
There's a couple that try to fuck everywhere--including on the tire of the plane as it's coming in for a landing. Oh, and Sofia Vergara plays the sexy Spanish chick who's kind of a "ho" because she's a flight attendant...and a spicy Latina. In fact, she saves everyone when the plane goes down by fucking around with the cockpit as if she was being fucked in the cockpit. Seriously.
Simply put, this movie is shit. And, yes, it was that bad. The movie could have been quite epic, had they not been so heavy-handed with the jokes/set-ups-to-the-jokes. Many fell flat, usually because the set-up was all "hyuck hyuck get it? GET...IT?!" Not only that, but for a Kevin Hart vehicle (GET IT?!), Kevin Hart was still kind of a backburner player for a good portion of the film.
But, if you turn your brain off and don't expect...well, anything, you can get a few chuckles out of it. Or if you're high/drunk, by all means. If you approach it like that, it should make you wish that Soul Plane 2 was a real thing...or die trying. In closing, avoid if sober and cautiously watch when faded.
It's me, once again, the guy who didn't want to set the world on fire and just wanted to set a flame in your heart, Speed on the Beat back with another "WIRTB Review." When Soul Plane came out, I went to go see it within weeks of its release. I mean, it was a black film, with a laundry list of black talent, and I was on my "Method Man is high-larious" shit (something that continued with the potential in Method & Red and on to this day).
The premise is simple: Nashawn Wade (played by Kevin Hart) has the worst airline experience ever. He has his dog killed by the airline (something about the dog getting sucked through a jet engine because he was labelled as checked baggage), gets the bubbleguts, and almost gets his soul sucked out (that sounded less awkward in my head) when he gets stuck in a toilet. Because of this, he earns some Goldmember-level cash ($100 million) and opens his own airline.
The airline is called "NWA" and flies a plane that has spinners and hydraulics.
Yep.
Anyhow, the bulk of the movie takes place on the airplane, like...Airplane!, except less funny. Many of the laughs come from situations that are "unexpected" or "beat-you-over-the-head" obvious/stereotypical. For instance, there's a white family in the film, the Hunkees (I guess because "The Niggar Family" was still a thing, but at least Chappelle was funny). Surprise! The son's a wigger. The mom eventually wants some BBC (there's a scene where she's all but getting moist over some black guy in boxers). The daughter is a rebellious teenager who wants to work, drink, fuck, and sleep (hey Raven), without the working or sleeping. And the dad's all anal retentive until he (post-script) gets his jollies off with Mo'Nique because Queen Latifah wasn't free to play the street-wise black woman who turns the old white man out. The "gay" stewart is named "Flame." There's a scene about someone of "Middle Eastern descent" possibly being a terrorist. The pilot of the plane, played by Snoop Dogg, is SURPRISE AGAIN unable to really fly the plane, since he's:
a) never flown a real plane before
b) is high off his ass (and presumed dead) halfway through the movie, because it's Snoop Dogg and no one would ever expect Snoop to be high.
There's a couple that try to fuck everywhere--including on the tire of the plane as it's coming in for a landing. Oh, and Sofia Vergara plays the sexy Spanish chick who's kind of a "ho" because she's a flight attendant...and a spicy Latina. In fact, she saves everyone when the plane goes down by fucking around with the cockpit as if she was being fucked in the cockpit. Seriously.
Simply put, this movie is shit. And, yes, it was that bad. The movie could have been quite epic, had they not been so heavy-handed with the jokes/set-ups-to-the-jokes. Many fell flat, usually because the set-up was all "hyuck hyuck get it? GET...IT?!" Not only that, but for a Kevin Hart vehicle (GET IT?!), Kevin Hart was still kind of a backburner player for a good portion of the film.
But, if you turn your brain off and don't expect...well, anything, you can get a few chuckles out of it. Or if you're high/drunk, by all means. If you approach it like that, it should make you wish that Soul Plane 2 was a real thing...or die trying. In closing, avoid if sober and cautiously watch when faded.
So, until next time, this is SOTB!!! saying take care and remember: I review the crap, so you don't have to.
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