Partly scripted by Nelson George, the premier authority on hip hop, the film is not without moments of insight, and there are certainly enough gross-out gags to keep you watching.
CB4 (1993)
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Reviews Counted:18
Fresh:11
Rotten:7
Average Rating:6/10
Runtime: 89 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Chris Rock stars in this rap version of THIS IS SPINAL TAP as Albert, a suburban wannabe rap star who, along with two friends, has tried everything to break into the music business. However, when... Chris Rock stars in this rap version of THIS IS SPINAL TAP as Albert, a suburban wannabe rap star who, along with two friends, has tried everything to break into the music business. However, when Albert is mistakes for an undercover cop by a nasty thug named Murphy, he adopts the newly incarcerated Murphy's persona and christens his rap group CB4, after Murphy's cell block address. Vowing to glorify violence and disparage women, CB4 are quickly signed to a lucrative record contract. Soon, the band is selling out concerts, and attracts a nerdy documentary filmmaker (Elliott) to chronicle their rise to the top of the charts among the protests of outraged parents and politicians. Fitfully funny and possessing a fine cast of SNL alums as well as cameos from real life rappers like Flavor Flav, Ice Cube, and Ice-T, CB4 is an excellent spoof of the rap music industry. [More]
Starring: Chris Rock, Allen Payne, Deezer D, Phil Hartman
Starring: Chris Rock, Allen Payne, Deezer D, Phil Hartman, Arthur Evans, Theresa Randle, Chris Elliott, Willard Pugh, Khandi Alexander, Rachel True, Richard Gant, J.D. Daniels, Isaac Hayes, Stoney Jackson, Tommy Davidson
Director: Tamra Davis
Director: Tamra Davis
Reviews for CB4
Torn between celebration and sendup, CB4 misses its big target as often as it hits.
CB4 just isn't too funny, and one gets the feeling that the filmmakers themselves lacked the resolve or coherence of vision to mock rap in any effective fashion.
One of the first movies to parody gangsta rap, it does so knowingly and affectionately.
Resolutely lame in all the wrong places, CB4 is nowhere near the witty satire it purports to be.
Though CB4 starts out as a fairly amusing rap variation of This is Spinal Tap! it quickly sinks into a raunchy, sexist series of off-the-wall gags that go nowhere.
If your mood is loose and profane, if you speak hip-hop (or you just like hearing it) and if you think Rock is funny (he is), you'll be glad you checked this out.
There's an unexpected innocence mixed in here that helps to blunt the pointed raunchiness (and political incorrectness) of the subject.
As a series of ocasionally-amusing vignettes, CB4 is is fitfully entertaining. However, when everything is tied together into a cohesive whole, this movie is a colossal mess.
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