I love that this generation see Teri for who she is…a logical, supportive and loving woman

I used to hate how her family would offer HER money. They really treated her like an ATM and wanted her to just go along with it. If that's family, no one needs it.

The whole movie and family is toxic. I hate how this movie pushes a "family over all narrative," even if the family is horrible to you... just endure. It's a horrible message to push.

What irked me the most about the movie was the end. Secret money was being stashed by big mama and they used it to pay towards the house and squandered it everywhere else, but paying Teri back. Teri paying for the house and big mama's medical bills, and birds wedding and her salon??? And then they kept Faith and Miles around and Teri was just happy being there and single. I truly hated that HEA ending because it felt forced. I truly would hate to have a mom like big mama and sisters like Maxine and Bird. Teri should've left

Teri literally had to watch her sister make a life with the boyfriend that left her for her sister. That alone would be tough to live around.

It’s crazy to me how they treated her like trash and the black sheep but they always expect her to be their atm Machine

I was Teri in my family. I put myself through school and obtained an MBA from a reputable school. Did well in corporate America making a 6 figure salary. I got a lot of static from my family for not wanting to spend all of my money on issues that arise from their bad decisions. My children and I are considered stuck up and selfish. I’m also criticized when I defend us against shade that is constantly thrown my way. I cut most of my family out of my life once my parents and grand parents died and have never looked back. I finally have peace in my life.

90s blk movies are so full of struggle love. Showing blk folks in struggle.

Teri like most black sheep was thinking if I do this next thing, if I give more money they'll value me. That never happens, thats why you save yourself and bounce.

Terri had imperfections like everyone else, but even her own mom didn’t have her back. She was under a lot of stress because no one didn’t want to help out.. smh

I can’t lie, I SCREAMED when you called Faith a raggedy vagabond😂😂😂 I haven’t heard that word since my SAT test 😂

Bird should’ve asked Terri to mind her business when she was paying for her wedding and funding her business

I really wonder how Teri mother allowed her sister I forgot her name 🤦🏾‍♀️ but how she allowed her to continue to date to the man that Teri was dating to the point that they got married and had kids and his ass was still around like that blows my mind like how could her mama allow that and not say anything

"I wasn't in the kitchen because mama and daddy kept my head in the books. That's why I'm a successful lawyer." That line explains a lot. The oldest daughter, Terri had the pressure to succeed while Maxine, the middle daughter, was only groomed to be a homemaker. The youngest daughter, Bird was the spoiled one. Big Mama didn't bothered to teach her anything not even to cook. Before she married Lem, she had men like Simuel who probably took care of her. You know, take her shopping when she wanted, expensive restaurants, fancy trips. She was like every rapper's baby mama and girlfriend. You should do a deep dive on the character Kimberly from the movie Madea's Big Happy Family.

Really hated the way Terri was treated. Like you said, she was the family ATM but constantly abused. Her sister hit on her current boyfriend, went on to marry him yet was seen as the kind and good one. The younger sister was downright silly.

This isn’t new to me. I been knew she wasn’t the villain in this movie like when i first saw it at the theater when it first came out. The way her sister went behind her back creeping with her boyfriend was just down right foul and then she married and had kids by him. Then another family member goes and sleeps with her husband and on top of that they wanted her and her husband to pay for everything like she’s the only 1 in the family that works. I couldn’t stand Vivica Fox’s character in this movie. Ugh😡

I’m screaming at Jennifer Hudson “insufficient fuuuuuuunds” 🤣🤣🤣🤣 So accurate 😂😂😂

Justice for teri

One thing I noticed with their mother was that she would always try to guilt Teri into taking care of her family because of how she had to provide FOR HER KIDS!! You’re their mother! It’s like she resented Teri, idk if she may have had her younger or what, but the anger should’ve went towards her husband and with a lot of the type of women their anger/resentment is misplaced and they take it out on their child. You basically want your child/children to feel guilty for what you as a parent are SUPPOSED TO DO! And like you said the reason they felt so comfortable disrespecting Teri is because their mother did it and she would always come down on Teri Everything you said was the truth especially about how they depict BW who are successful as “bougie” and of course the film was written by A BM

Their mother also showed favoritism to her grandson proudly too while they barely paid any mind to the daughter. Lem would’ve left in an ambulance if he came in my shop like that lmao. Teri was beautiful, well put together and wasn’t struggling so they hated that, she was a constant reminder of how they failed and that’s why they were always projecting

I remember watching Soul Food for the first time as a kid, my mom did not care for, complain the whole movie. My mom was the Teri of the family. She still loved her family but only from a distance, as soon as she was able to she moved two hours away. Far enough to be free but close enough just incase.

As a person who deals with an abusive and narcissistic mother, I can say this is 100% facts! These people are so broken that they will project their self doubt and issues onto you in order for you to identify with struggles and a self-concept that isn't even yours! It's sickening how in African American households we have glorified and glamorized these type of dynamics.

As I got older, I realized how much the Joseph family gaslit and manipulated Teri. What makes it worse, I identified with her! I'm a middle child but I've been pretty much taken for granted in my family for most of my life. Constantly giving of myself with no thanks, just criticism. Family sucks.

When Teri said, “Everything I love, I lose” in the movie Soul Food - that resonated a little TOO DEEPLY.

JUSTICE FOR TERI!! 🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣 She deserved better!

I really hated how the they treated Teri. I feel like a lot of Black families and people treat successful, beautiful/handsome, and proper Black family members like they’re outcasts. They’ll run to them for money and the outcasted family member feels the need to be overly helpful in order to gain acceptance.

Maxine really was a piece of work and the fact that this movie is based on a true story is even worse, and the guy who wrote this film showed exactly what he thought of women who didn't make men their end all be all, he villainized Teri like people in our community do to this day. They don't like introverted shy bw because then "we think, we're all that" (their insecurities) , they don't like bw that don't make being from the hood their entire personality, they think women who speak eloquently want to be "wh!t3" and are "stuck up" , if you're not a stereotypical bw then they make you the butt of jokes, pull you down to try and make themselves feel better because it helps them forget where they are for short amount of time, its nothing but projection. This was an excellent video and Teri most certainly deserved so much better than what she got from her supposed "family" 💞

When you said Momma Joe is a pick me...they way I just laughed! I think I woke my neighbors 😂

Now that I'm Grown I see mama Jo was definitely the problem. I used to feel she favored Max because she reminded her of herself. But I also see in a sense she may have also been doing that because she knew Max didn't have much going on for herself. Which is why she had to pump her head up telling her she's the "strong one".HOW?? Also, the tv series really revealed more of how mama Jo treated Terri the way she did because she was their daddy's twin physically & clearly his favorite. Oh & he was doing way more than gambling in the streets Overall I hope the TV series starts streaming soon. So everyone can see how Terri actually did get her justice with Kenny behind Max's back 😈. Also, see how Max did her a favor the tv series really proved Kenny wasn't shit.

Honestly, watching this movie for the first few times it was such a sweet movie about family. However, now that I'm older, I wish this character just cut her family off and lived her best life

Nah, Terry was giving like she was some other bank.. I work for JP Morgan, and we don't do loans 😆😆😆

The way Kenny smirked when they were fighting over him was so disgraceful and it’s how alottt of men think like “yeah I slept with both sisters” yet if a woman does it she’s every name under the sun. It’s DISGUSTING ON BOTH ENDS and I don’t trust men who are so xes crazed because you don’t know what they’re capable of. I also agree some men like to brush off that anger is an emotion and are extremely emotional lmaoo you don’t have to be crying to be an overly emotional human.A lot of them have zero emotional intelligence like breaking up stuff because one of their favorite teams have lost a game 😂😂😂😂😂😂

“Big Momma ya arm!!!” I’m sorry I couldn’t resist 😂😂😂😂

I need more smoke for Mama Jo it begins and ends with her. Where was the girl code when it came to Maxine dating Teri's boyfriend that really annoyed me

In therapy Teri would be considered the parentified child

When I watched this as a child I never could stand her family, even Ahmad annoyed me with how he was constantly in grown folks business, no one had her back. I really wish Teri would've stayed true to her F the Family feelings; they always guilted her into believing that putting herself first was wrong. The fact that they pulled that mess behind her back in order to get her to still take care of their moms house was cuhrazyy!! She was like an outsider amongst her own family

Love terri, nobody worried about Terri's heart as max stole kenny and has had to watch their marriage ⚭ all this time

You really touched on a lot of important points, this was an incredible breakdown. It's so funny how Max was going off in the bathroom about how Lem had nothing but as soon as Teri tells her "i'm the one paying for this wedding" she tells her she's always making it about money like I'm sorry what??? She acted like she contributed in any way and these movies definitely love villainizing bw who like the finer things in life, have careers, money and have high standards and it's because they want to shame women into taking care of b (u) m $ who complain about either being a provider or a woman having her own because he wants her to be a 50/50 women but still wants to have control over her so he can feel like a "man" lmao

This was the realest breakdown right here! Terri was fed up being VOLUN-TOLD everything and high key Bigmama swept too much under the rug and the lil’ boy was in grown folks business too much

I agree that Terri deserved so much better. The ONLY thing i feel she was wrong about was her lack of support for her husband. But on the flipside, i dont think anyone bothered to teach Terri how to embrace her "womanhood" outside of being educated and having a career. Like so many older siblings, Terri was pushed to be successful, while Max and Bird experienced a more laid-back upbringing. But Mama Jo came from that old school way of thinking that pushed "family over everything" with no regard for how it was actually causing a lack of accountability. She should have never sent the girls on a date together, which ultimately ended up in Maxine stealing her sisters boyfriend, and she should have been forthcoming about the money she had put aside, instead of guilting Terri into paying for everything. She also should have never put Faith off on Terri; any woman, young or old, knows that you do not allow the wayward tramp into a married womans home. And she should have never, ever enlisted the help of a child to handle adult matters.

they hated her

Although I had no business watching Soul Food at seven years old. I have to say even at seven years old I never understood why they gave her so much grief. They were always acting like she was hard pressed, cold and irritating but they needed her to fix all of their problems. The mother was really messed up for never standing up for her once. She seemed sweet but that’s not sweet. Terri had breadwinners depression.

The way i screamed at this reference 14:14 🤣. I was like he was in Waiting to Exhale doing the same thing to Angela Bassett's character.

This was my mother and her family in a nutshell. Family will effffff you over in a heartbeat. I had to be older to understand these lessons. That's why I carry myself in a certain way with her family.

Terri really deserved better, friends and family be the main ones to turn on you. First it was her ex boyfriend, then her husband, her cousin, she couldn’t catch a break.

I hate that I didn’t realize this about her character until I became an adult. Her family was trash. 💔

Romanticizing struggle love to black women. 😑

Let’s talk about how Miles lasted 30 secs with Faith. Seems like Terri wasn’t even getting comfort at home.

This movie taught me never to bring your cousin around your man

I always thought Teri got a raw deal. Maybe because I'm an eldest sister too...🙄

Terri was very disrespected 😢

Literally no one apologized to this poor woman. Her sister AND her cousin stole her man and acted like she had no reason to be angry. And they constantly hit her up for money like she was a living bank. I would just about have a breakdown. She’s so strong. Seriously, Faith and Miles would not _live_ to see the next day if that were me. All hail Queen Teri.

Thank you for this reaction. Rewatching this movie as an adult i’ve come to the realization that the family treated Terri like garbage. They used & abused her. The movie made Terri look like the villain because of her standoffish demeanor. The reason why she was negative Nancy was because Max stole her boyfriend & married him, the family made her pay for everything & her marriage was on the rocks. Max was a lowkey bum. Bird was probably still messing around with Simuel because she didn’t set any boundaries & she went behind her husband’s back to Simuel to get him a job. Fun fact: The late Whitney Houston & Halle Berry were considered for the role of Terri.

Such a beautiful take on the birth order hierarchy. I'm the oldest of 8, and your take on the dynamic and emotional toll it takes was spot on 💯

You said it all. Teri was treated terribly by the whole family. she should have gotten all the money in the tv at the end and left the state and went no contact with her whole family.

Family like this love to tell you to “mind your business” when you’re funding their entire existence seemingly unaware that your money IS your business. Don’t want somebody in your business stay out of their pockets. Simple. You’re not going to marry a bum then stay in my face w/your hand out. Terri needed strong boundaries with them and a lot of distance.

Being a mother doesn't make someone smarter, which is why people should start to first consider if something is okay even if their parents do it

I love the repeated use of the "Fuck the family" clip. 😂😂😂

It’s the Brandy Apart playing in the background!!! Soooo fitting ❤

Great breakdown. I couldn't quite put my finger on why I didn't like this movie as an adult and you explained so eloquently why. This was the joint when it came out (I was a 6th grader and had to cover my eyes on certain parts) but now that I'm grown... This movie is a horrible cult classic.

I cape for her so hard 😔 I wish she would moved away from them and let them suffer.

I remember during the pandemic there was a black twitter thread that said big mama was the villain of soul food😂. And it’s true! She never intervened when her daughters were bickering , and always expected Teri to be responsible and mature which she has always been. Then they wanna look at her like she’s crazy after she has an emotional breakdown, shes literally been the backbone of the family even when big mama was ailing she was concerned about the bigger picture while everybody else got to lean on each other m. I would just think a positive movie resolution would be instead of Terri catching an”attitude” and leaving their lunch meeting her sisters should’ve let bygones be bygones intentionally listened to her grievances and then Bird would tell them she’s pregnant. But noooo Maxine still gets to be the “keeping it real” supportive and compassionate sister. Terri should’ve cut everybody else in the family except Ahmad who admired his auntie.

The “We see each other comment” about Faith and Maxine 😂☠️☠️. It’s crazy how as a child, it seemed like Terry was stuck up/not a team player when the whole time she was successful, beautiful, logical, with the right amount of compassion, despite what her family did to her. Like you, I wanted to see Terri flip the script and marry a successful man, stack even more money while chunking up the deuces to them. I’m so happy most of us are starting to see and call out a lot of the toxic messages that were fed to us as kids.

My family could never play me. Idc who you are , I’ll spin off on you never to be heard from again. Me and my damn money !

And now a word from jennifer Hudson took me clean out lmfao!!!

Vanessa was really working that hairstyle. I've always been a big fan of hers. Great actress and singer. My mom is the Terri in my family. I also have a cousin that gets treated like this. It is so crappy when a black woman has money all their family members want to do is put their hand out expecting money.

Preach! The moment they asked her to pay for a wedding after paying for a business after paying off another house all so an ex con with no job, no money, a gun, and violent tendencies can get married and live rent free in the house shes paying for I would have went straight 90s and said talk to the hand cause i aint listening ✋️

What's more is that on the tv series, Teri had to be made to suffer an anxiety attack. It doesn't truly end dealing with the family.

Thanks for reviewing this movie. I hated it and didn’t understand why it was so popular. The mother and sisters were garbage and used Teri constantly. She should have left them in the dust.

I need a sequel or something where Teri finally stands up to them on their toxic behavior. Everyone because all the adults in the family did her so wrong.

These are all such valid points!

I never really thought of her as stuck up, just tired. Some people really have the mentality of when ONE of you made it WE ALL made it. They then lean on that one person drowning them. If the shoe were on the other foot, they would feel differently. The reality is Terry was done wrong and expected to just get over it. People like Terry should pack their bags and move far away if they can. Let them do it all without you.

First born here your broke it down so well

Oh this is my kind of content. I just scrolled and saw you did a video on Brandi from A Thin Line too!? I’m about to BINGE 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

I am glad more people saw the movie the way I saw it. I was livid when I first saw this movie. I couldn’t stand any of that family. Teri needed to move out of state and never speak to any of them again.

When the movie came out, I was rooting for the kid, I nearly believed in the whole "family over everything" narrative, and thought Teri was a stuck-up ice queen. As an adult, however, my views of her, and her family, have completely changed. It took a long time to realize Teri was the true victim of the whole movie. Her whole family was all-take-and-no-give, except for disrespect, ingratitude, and BS. The movie would've been better if it ended with Teri severing all ties with her toxic af family and husband, and move on with her life being free from their burdens. Justice for Teri, indeed.

Finally! This my favorite movie I always quote “F” the family! I loved all the ladies in the movie including FAITH 😂

I'm new to your channel. I always felt than and now that Terri was constantly disrespected by her family. I can relate to her on a lot of the things she dealt with in her family

This was really nice. Please, please do a review for these TV SERIES.... Single Ladies, Girlfriends, Harlem, Sistas and Soul Food.

This channel is validating!!!!

Aye u did the vid!! Here for this!🙌🏼❤

Can we get a deep dive on SHARPAY EVANS from High school musical !?

Videos like these really inspire me to finally start making my own content because I have so much to share and discuss, just subscribed! 🤗 But for now I’ll share a snippet. It’s crazy to watch movies like this now when you’ve matured a bit more, understand the world better, or have been through your own experiences, like myself. Between Soul Food, Tyler Perry’s Big Happy Family and This Christmas, the boujie, pretentious, and snappy sister archetype is so played out. The way they paint these black women out to be is awful, with the exception of Kelli in “This Christmas”, because I absolutely love her and she embodies a hard-working, accountable, and empathetic woman, who's a girls girl, which we love. Especially when we found out the trauma and turmoil characters like Kimberly & Terri went through growing up. It's astounding to still hear that they stuck around and helped provide for their families, which Terri did or no matter how limited Kimberly tried to make it, none the less they still showed up. Then to have a mother like both of them did, Big Mama and Shirley, who painted themselves as the victims, when they really were the embodiment of narcissistic and pick-me, women/mothers, had to be grueling and is ultimately the cause of the rest of their family members treating them the way they did. Loved this video and thank you for opening up these kinds of discussions! 💗✨

The family was opportunitstic and ungrateful. Worse, Big Mama was just the same way and always enabled everyone's behavior and humbled Terri wrongly.

Love that your playing the butterfly album in the background 🦋🐑🍯

Loved this video, I’m newly subscribed but I hope you will consider doing a deep dive on the Insecure characters. I would like to hear your take on Molly and the last few episodes of the final season

9:42 omg, I'm a recovering addict. Nearly 5 years sober, and my family LOVEEEE to bring it up in arguments. I remember one time i was told, "I'm tired of caring for addicts in this family." Meanwhile, I was working, had my own place, was giving them money frequently. It's so disappointing and disrespectful.

Although I’m the youngest of my family, I deeply resonate with her character❤

They def treated her like the black sheep smh

Terri deserved better! 😭

Sis I’m so sorry that I missed this episode I was alarmed but girlllll I was on Terri’s side when I was 11 years old like I hated how they all treated her I would’ve cut my family off after that 🥺🥺❤️

As far as you know I'm an ATM... Automatically Terri's Money That line...😢

The reason they were upset when Teri told them no is because they felt entitled to her money simply because she was related to them, you have people online who feel entitled to celebrities money and tell them how they should spend it and it's because they don't have the funds. You don't ever see people with money upset at how another person spends or who they choose to give their money too. it's a nar cis sis tic trait and they get upset when they no longer have contr0l 0v3r you. They didn't love Teri, they loved what she could do for them and she deserved so much more than that, she was a good person who was put through it and the only people who don't think so are du$+y m3n and w 0 m 3n. who are just like her family 🤷🏾‍♀🤷🏾‍♀

I really enjoyed this video teri i watched soul food when i was a kid i always knew that teri was treated wrong vanessa was brilliant in the film she was perfect in the role

Yeah I gave her an apology years ago. Once you were in her shoes, you know what she been through.

PREACHING in this video 🩵🦋

Can we get into the casting??? And how it played a role in colorism?

I am the black sheep in my family. And I went through what Terri went through. My boyfriend married my big sister. Whenever i get paid they call me. I cant even get my parents to watch any of my children for more than an hour, matter a fact keep for a weekends but when it comes to my other sisters children they have no problem. I am basically Terri in real life.

She ALLOWED them to use and abused her … she needed to set more boundaries

One of my first girl crushes honestly