Yo?
Every guy in their 30s who likes hip-hop, or even liked it at one point in their youth, knows CB4. They probably can’t remember a thing about it, but they likely remember the film fondly for some reason.
I was one of those guys, remembered the film, thought I remembered it being good, but couldn’t give you much more than the fake song titles and one quote. (To follow.)
Now first off CB4 hasn’t aged well, because 15 years ago when this came out censorship was still an issue, nowadays when Britney is exhibiting her genitalia on album covers and even wholesome artists like Beyonce show 95% of their asses and still seem pure(r) some dirty lyrics are less of an issue, so lampooning it is a little out of date now.
Another thing that hasn’t aged well is Chris Rock, sure he-funny, but not in films he ain’t. He hasn’t got a film that you own on DVD made since the 90s, if you have one in any case. Unlessss, you have a kid, in which case I would argue that Madagascar is not a Chris Rock film anyway, it’s a kiddie flick.
And don’t try to sell me his stand up stuff, I think Chris Rock is a smart guy that makes some really good points in his sets, but repeating the same line over and over in an ascending tone isn’t comedy, it’s yelling louder.
Moving on…
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CB4 is a mock-doco about an NWA-style rap group named CB4 after Cell Block 4 where they supposedly spent time. Their music is controversial, their backgrounds shady and their lifestyle dangerous, in short they are everything that the mainstream hates.
It features real life rappers and celebrities, Ice T, Ice Cube, Flava Flav, Shaq, Eazy E, etc.
Only in this case these hard nigg*z aren’t so hard, they simply ripped off the life of a real hard case and stole his story and background to establish their credibility and further their career. In truth the three members of CB4 are middle class kids with good families and minimal hardship.
The twist here is that the inspiration for the group, a pimpin’, drug selling thug named Gusto has escaped from prison and is none too pleased to be ripped off.
That’s the plot, so where are the jokes?
Well, rich white people don’t like or understand the group or their lyrics, so in this movie white guys are geeky and all black guys are cool. Funny huh? The songs are based upon real tunes, but in this case they are actually very funny, “Straight outta Lo-Cash” and “Sweat from my balls” are both catchy and hilarious. But unfortunately there are only two of them, and through necessity they reappear again and again, (they sensibly hold Sweaty balls back until the second half of the movie).
Aside from that the jokes are based upon stereotypes, the jeri-curls, the beanies, the potty talk, the groupies, the rpper’s names etc all get a go, but having seen the film again for the first time in years, it is consistently amusing enough to hold your attention, but there are precious few real laugh-type-laughs, where you actually make more than the sound of escaping air.
Chris Rock is the lead rapper and the main focus of the film, but even he is outshone by his co-rapper Allen payne, who plays a ferocious pro-black guy named Dead Mike.
Final Rating – 6 / 10. Amusing enough, but hasn’t dated well. Buy the soundtrack, that is still great. Has all the jokes in the movie, and also plays the good songs in full.
