Kingdom Come 2001

Kingdom Come follows the Slocumb family, a rural clan whose bonds are tested when the patriarchently distant memories of the past collide with a present filled with fault lines. After the death of Woodrow “Bud” Slocumb, the family is pulled back to the country home they share, only to discover that no one among them seems to remember him with much fondness. What starts as a quiet funeral quickly spirals into a revealing examination of long-held grievances, strained loyalties, and the complicated tenderness that can exist beneath tense surfaces. The story, adapted from the Off-Broadway play Dearly Departed, uses their gathering as a microcosm of kinship—where jokes sometimes mask resentment and where the act of saying goodbye becomes the first step toward reckonings that have little to do with mortality and everything to do with living.

Ray Bud, LL Cool J, is a recovering alcoholic who carries the weight of a fractured relationship with his father and a stubborn reluctance to fully face his father’s death. The gravity of the moment sits on his shoulders even as he tries to maintain a steady, hopeful tone for those around him. His wife, Lucille (Vivica A. Fox), is a loving, devoted presence in the household, always moving to make sure everyone has what they need. Her warmth masks a quiet ache—she longs for a child, a dream that remains out of reach—and her quiet longing adds another layer to the web of desires and disappointments that define this family dynamic. The interplay between Ray Bud’s struggle with the past and Lucille’s nurturing spirit helps to anchor the emotional core of the story, even as humor and quarrels punctuate the proceedings.

Junior (Anthony Anderson) brings a different kind of pressure to the table. He has gambled away his savings on a failed invention, leaving him financially and emotionally exposed. His loud-mouthed, high-strung wife Charisse Jada Pinkett Smith rockets through scenes with sharp wit and sharper temper, especially when infidelity tests their bond. The revelation that a wealthy lawyer cousin might have offered Charisse a different life only adds to the tension, culminating with the unsettling reminder that family loyalties can be as fragile as the fortunes that sometimes separate people. The presence of Juanita (Toni Braxton), the cousin’s wife who has chosen to step into a different circle, intensifies the rollercoaster of relationships and loyalties that the family must navigate in the wake of Bud’s death.

Marguerite (Loretta Devine) is a pious, overbearing mother who believes she knows what is best for everyone, whether they want her guidance or not. She translates faith and moral certainty into a commanding presence that can feel both protective and suffocating. Her constant, shrill advice—especially toward her wayward son Royce (Darius McCrary)—is a catalyst for conflict in the house. Royce, unemployed and frustrated, resents his mother’s insistence on control even as she fears his potential downfall and imagines worst-case scenarios for his future. The friction between Marguerite’s well-intentioned yet intrusive counsel and Royce’s stubborn desire for independence becomes one of the central tensions that drive the day’s conversations and confrontations.

Throughout the film, the atmosphere in the Slocumb house shifts between warmth and sharp-edged confrontation, humor and heartbreak. The family members reveal how they have carried Bud’s absence in different ways—some with humor, others with defensiveness, and a few with a fragile hope for reconciliation. The funeral acts as a catalyst, pulling long-simmering resentments to the surface while offering glimmers of understanding, forgiveness, and the possibility that memory can heal as well as haunt. The country setting amplifies the sense that time here moves slowly, inviting a closer look at the people who remain and the choices they make when confronted with sorrow and obligation.

As the day unfolds, the narrative interweaves personal histories with present tensions, painting a portrait of a family that, despite its flaws and clashes, persists in staying together. The dialogue is brisk and observant, with sharp one-liners and affectionate jabs that feel authentic to a clan that knows each other all too well. The emotional stakes are high, but so is the stubborn humor that keeps the mood from tipping entirely into gravitas. The result is a blend of drama and comedy that honors the Off-Broadway origins while expanding the relationships into a broader canvas of what it means to be family when the past keeps tugging at the present.

In the end, Kingdom Come presents a candid look at how love, memory, and duty coexist in a household where everyone has a story to tell and a score to settle. The film invites viewers to witness not just a funeral, but a reckoning—one that asks whether a family can move forward when the echoes of the past refuse to fade. With its grounded performances and its heartfelt, occasionally humorous, portrayal of grief and reconciliation, the movie offers a thoughtful meditation on what it means to come together when it would be easier to walk away.