Simply A Masterpiece

Pretty Good

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

"The Cookout" might not be the best movie you can see, or the most sensitive to black people. Still, it is enjoyable. It stars rapper Storm P (aka Quran Pender) as Todd Anderson, a young, newly-drafted NBA star. He's just gotten a house in a New Jersey gated community, and his whole family is celebrating with a cookout. The humor here is over-the-top, as are several characters. Queen Latifah's security guard, for example. Other characters do manage to make laughs. Like Tim Meadows as Leroy, the conspiracy-obsessed paralegal, and Ja Rule and Roberto Vanderpool as Bling Bling and Weezer, the dimwitted hustlers. "The Cookout" may not be so nutritious, but it's fine for empty calories.

The movie had a good message about being responsible and down to earth even after hitting pay dirt. But, the message was nearly drowned in the cheesy delivery. As a result, this ethnic comedy comes off somewhat spoofish because of the mugging and overacting (which obviously was on purpose). I think of The Cookout (2004) as (one of the characters in the movie so aptly put it) a "Black Beverly Hillbillies," like the TV series The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) that was definitely satirical. Although it is true that the stereotypes were carried to the extreme, which explains why some viewers are offended by the material, the same could be said of other spoofs, which purposely border on the ridiculous. The Cookout (2004) is okay to rent, if you take if for what it is.You know, this would have been a good TV movie.

I can't believe anyone financed this garbage. I feel bad that money went towards this movie and not something else worth while. Everyone person in this movie has tainted their careers by being in this pile of crap. And now I'm going to right random letters to fill the comment paragraph. Whoever wrote this movie should be ashamed, this is by far the stupidest movie I've ever seen. Freddy Got Fingered is horrible, but at least I laughed when i watched it. This is bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad Do not waste your time with this movie

Warning! There is an unfunny Queen Latifah and an unfunny Danny Glover in this movie. You have never see Danny play a role like this before! Megan Good looks good in this movie. But she does phony acting. Eve looks good in this movie. But she does some phony acting.Jennifer Lewis plays the EXACT same type of character that she plays in Nora's Hair Salon! A goofy loud lady who gives a lesson (Just like Bill Cosby does in Fat Albert) near the end of the movie. This movie was stupid and a waste of my money. Frankie Faison is still acting? Wow! And those two fat boys play the same characters in every thing they are in! Fat greedy guys who like to eat. And this movie has too many stereotypes to count. A mama with a whole bunch of children who are looking for a baby daddy. A guy spending all his money after he gets drafted by the NBA. Look for Queen Latifah's mom playing a horrible mother in this movie.