There is a lot of silly comedy in "Soul Men," but there's also an unintentional sadness hovering over it. One of the stars, Bernie Mac, recently died; and the influential soul singer Isaac Hayes, who has a cameo, also passed away recently. Stay through the movie's end credits and you'll see an affectionate tribute to them.

That sentimental quality gives "Soul Men" what substance it has, because otherwise it's only fitfully successful in mining the legacy of soul music from the 1960s and '70s.

Although director Malcolm D. Lee ("Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins") seems to know his music history and assembled the right combination of songs, performers and clubs, the movie too often goes for cheap laughs at the expense of really immersing us in a soulful story.

The premise is sound, which is why the movie gets off to a promising start. Louis Hinds (Samuel L. Jackson) and Floyd Henderson (Bernie Mac) are middle-aged guys who back in the day worked as backup singers for a soul star named Marcus Hooks (John Legend). When Hooks went on to have a solo career, Hinds and Henderson slipped into obscurity.

The surly Hinds even served time in prison and now works as an auto mechanic and lives in near-poverty; the more affable Henderson went on to run a profitable car wash and lives much more comfortably. They seemingly hate each other and have had no contact for many years.

That all changes when Hooks suddenly dies, music industry types decide to stage a concert in his honor at New York's Apollo Theater, and the daunting challenge is to convince Henderson and Hinds to put aside their differences and participate in the concert.

An essential plot contrivance is that Hinds does not want to fly, and so he and Henderson decide to drive an old car from Los Angeles to New York. It's a long ride with plenty of slapstick opportunities along the way. "Soul Men" quickly drives into all the genre cliches of the road movie, which is one reason why soul music references that should be central instead seem peripheral.

It doesn't help that the movie also coasts on crude humor that is funny in small doses but tiresome when you're along for a 3,000-mile drive. Although nobody cusses with more invention and conviction than Samuel L. Jackson, even his tirades start to seem as deflated as the inevitable flat tire they experience on the trip.

The rough banter between Hinds and Henderson occasionally puts a bit of spark back into the movie, but the sporadic laughs aren't enough to make the drive memorable. This becomes apparent when the guys pull into the soul mecca known as Memphis and settle into a crowded club. Playing himself, Isaac Hayes is an authoritative presence here. Alas, he's only seen smiling in a few brief shots and doesn't really perform. He's definitely a cool cat. We can dig it. But "Shaft" is one song you won't hear.

Despite some fun to be had watching Hinds, Henderson and other old-school soul singers put on their old outfits and revive the music, it's generally disappointing that "Soul Men" never stays in that groove for very long. Even so, stick around for those end credits. Bernie Mac is seen in the expected outtakes, but also in an interview during which he expresses thanks for the career he has -- or had. Grade: C+

"Soul Men" (R) is now playing at area theaters.

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