The Cookout (2004)

User Rating:

3.5/10   

Director:

Lance Rivera

Writers:

Queen Latifah (story) &
Shakim Compere (story) ...

Release Date:

3 September 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

This summer, get your grill on!

Plot:

When Todd Anderson signs a $30 million deal with his hometown team, the New Jersey Nets, he knows that his life is set for a big change...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Interracial Marriage | Farting Scene

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Ja Rule	...	Bling Bling
Tim Meadows	...	Leroy
Jenifer Lewis	...	Lady Em
Quran Pender	...	Todd Andersen (as Storm P)
Jonathan Silverman	...	Wes
Meagan Good	...	Brittany
Farrah Fawcett	...	Mrs. Crowley
Ruperto Vanderpool	...	Wheezer
Frankie Faison	...	Jojo Andersen
Vincent Pastore	...	Poo Salesman
Kevin Phillips	...	Jamal Washington
Reg E. Cathey	...	Frank Washington
Rita Owens	...	Nettie Washington
Gerry Bamman	...	Butler
Carl Wright	...	Grandpa

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for drug content, sexual references and language.

Runtime:

USA:97 min | Argentina:97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #40940) | Iceland:LH | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Bernardsvile, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Cookout Productions

Trivia:

Last cinema film of Farrah Fawcett.

Quotes:

Leroy: In hockey, they hit a black puck around, why can't the puck be white.
Wes: Well on ice, a white puck might be difficult to see.
Leroy: I would expect you to say that.

Movie Connections:

References Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

It's All Good

Not the worst comedy of the year but still not worth watching

The Cookout is a pretty lame comedy that really delivers nothing new. #1 NBA draft pick Todd Anderson's star is on the ascendant after signing to his home team, the New Jersey Nets. Trying to stay grounded in reality, he throws a big barbecue for his family, not realizing that mixing them with his new agents and reps might lead to a crazy afternoon. The plot is fairly simple, something similar to the Barbershop films. The Cookout fails to be like Barbershop though. Everyone that's at the cookout is a stereotype. The filmmakers apparently were trying to include every stereotype about blacks possible. The script is very weak and needed a lot of work. The acting wasn't very good either with the best being Queen Latifah. She is pretty much the only saving grace in this film. However, her role in this film is small and its hard to believe she helped with the writing. Tim Meadows and Danny Glover are also pretty good but they can't save this film. Other people worth mentioning are Meagan Good and Jonathan Silverman. Ja Rule does a terrible job and he pretty much kills the film. Farrah Fawcett is in the film for some reason and she does a decent job. Everyone else is very annoying and do a bad job of acting. On a side note, Queen Latifah's mom has a role and Eves role is more or a cameo. Lance Rivera directs his first film and hopefully he can improve. Barbershop talked about important issues however, The Cookout didn't as it just had cheap laughs and it was a pretty boring film. The runtime is only 97 minutes long. Even with the short runtime it drags a lot and most of the film is pretty unrealistic. The Cookout is defiantly not worth watching unless your really, really big fans of anyone involved. Rating 3/10, a boring and forgettable film.