Kingdom Come (2001 film)

Kingdom Come is a story of a family called the Slocumbs, living out in the country, who must come together after the death of a family member, whom no one seems to remember with much fondness. It is based on the Off-Broadway play Dearly Departed.

First, there's Woodrow "Bud" Slocumb, the man in question, whose wife, Raynelle (Whoopi Goldberg), is pretty nonchalant about his death from a stroke. Then, there's Ray Bud (LL Cool J), a recovering alcoholic who has a problem with seeing his father dead because of their rocky relationship; his wife, Lucille (Vivica A. Fox), is a loving, devoted housewife who goes out of her way to make sure that everyone has everything they need, but can't have the one thing she wants out of life: a child. Next, Junior (Anthony Anderson) has blown all of his money on a failed invention, and his loud mouthed wife, Charisse (Jada Pinkett Smith), is no help; she hits the roof after his infidelity and reminds him often that she could have been married to his rich lawyer cousin, who, it is later revealed, left his own wife Juanita (Toni Braxton). Then, there's Marguerite (Loretta Devine), a pious, overbearing mother who usually calls her wayward son, Royce (Darius McCrary), a "Demon Seed"; she fears that he will end up in jail like his brother, and the latter is an unemployed worker who is irritated by his mother's unsolicited and shrill advice on how to live his life.

The film begins with a morning radio announcement by Rev. Beverly H. Hooker (Cedric the Entertainer). Raynelle receives and reads her sister-in-law Marguerite's letter (much to Bud's annoyance), which says that she was expecting Bud to attend Sunday service, but assumed that he decided to watch wrestling again like he'd always did, but wonders that there was going to be television in hell. She had also heard about Junior's and Charisse's business going bad, and wonders that would he ever learn. She thinks that both her nephew and her own son could learn from Buster Kincaid's child, Tiny. She had him over the weekend, and he did some chores around the house; as a reward, she gave him three dollars for his birthday the following week instead of the actual two dollars. Moreover, she says that she has decided to come over to visit after church; she believes that one of them needs to get things right with the Lord, and she is the woman for the job. She decides that they are going to spend of whole day in prayer, discussing scripture, and singing hymns until they wear her down, like it says in 2 Peter 3:8, "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years." After Raynelle finishes reading, Bud, who both agrees and disagrees with some things said in the letter, collapses and dies, with the former noticing.

Later, Royce is awaken by a loud ring of his phone. The one calling is his mother, who starts singing too pitchy, getting him annoyed that he hangs up. After he answers again, he calls her off for waking him up, in which she replies that she says that he's taking the Lord's name in vain. Royce talks harshly to his mother, but she talks back and asks why he is still in his bed. She tells him that it's 7:00 in the morning and why he isn't up looking for a job, but he replies that it's not that at all. She assumes that he has a love hangover and begins accusing him of laying with a harlot, in which she starts slapping her phone to get back at him. He tells her to stop that and asks what does she want. She thought that he want to know that his uncle Bud has died this morning. He seems to be compassionate, saying that he is sorry to hear that and asking how his aunt Raynelle was doing. She replies that his aunt is not doing well, as his uncle dropped dead at a breakfast table in the middle of her letter. He then pretends to be sympathetic about the cause of his uncle's death. She says that they are going to their house and giving them comfort and some Christian counsel.