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The Cookout (PG-13) BUY THE:Poster!
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A low-budget entry in the oft-derided urban comedy genre starring a handful of hip-hoppers-turned-actors and, to top it off, one of those dreaded dump releases shipped off to screens without advance screenings for critics, The Cookout is the very definition of an easy target--and, in all fairness, it deserves every last bit of criticism. The story (conceived in part by producer/co-star Queen Latifah), in which freshly-signed number one NBA draft pick Todd (Storm P, who I look forward to seeing in a better film) holds an old-fashioned family barbecue at his new mansion in a posh, gated community, is nothing more than a threadbare clothesline barely holding together predictable jokes and, above all else, stereotyped characters: Todd's gold digger of a girlfriend (Meagan Good); a thug (Ja Rule) looking to cash in on Todd's sudden success; an uppity, whitewashed rich black neighbor (Danny Glover, whom I hope was paid handsomely for this); a conspiracy-minded wannabe lawyer (Tim Meadows);a takes-herself-too-seriously security guard (Latifah, thoroughly embarrassing herself); and the list goes on. Amid all the laughless loudness, however, there is an oasis of genuine merit: Jenifer Lewis, who is warm, funny and quite touching as Todd's mother.
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