CB4 (1993)

good film but with many flaws

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Cell Block 4 (or CB4 as they are known) are the hottest new gangsta rap crew and have had a documentary commissioned on their violent past. However the camera crew are with MC Gusto (aka Albert Brown) when he is shot at by someone whom Albert confesses is the real Gusto. Stuck in traffic, Albert tells the camera the truth behind CB4's middle-class background and how he and his friends formed the marketing image of gangsta's ho's and guns. However with so much faking behind them, how will the group react when Gusto gets out of jail and threatens to make their play become reality.Even though rap music has moved into the mainstream to a great extent than it had in 1993, and many of the clichés lampooned in this film have changed slightly (from grimy to bling to the style of Fonzworth Bentley etc) this film still manages to be funny and on the nose enough times to be worth seeing. The plot doesn't really matter because the aim is to spoof the rap scene and it does this pretty well; of course the threads around Gusto and Virgil are pretty loose as a result and this took away from the film but it does other things better. The humour is pretty broad – so don't expect anything as clever as Spinal Tap here, but it produced enough laughs in me from the basic rather crude stuff while also hitting hip hop quite a few times nice and hard!Hip hop was an easy target then and it is an easier target now since it is influencing western culture more than ever – to its own detriment it must be said. The gags are funny but could have been a lot sharper since it only apes the industry but never really seems comfortable to rip it down or make it look as totally silly as it sometimes can in reality. Fans of the genre will like the film because it does this – it spoofs but never in a malicious or harmful way, if anything it is more affectionate. The cast are pretty good even if the lack of any real names (at the time) meant that it had a rather low rent feel to it. Rock is pretty funny but never allowed to be as funny as he could have been due to the very general and basic material – likewise Payne and D are both OK but only as good as the material allows. Elliott is weedy and rather annoying, while the always welcome presence of Hartman is wasted as the film sort of just doesn't know what to do with his side of the film. Murphy is OK although I found the resemblance to his brother to be a bit distracting. The support cast throws up a few well-known faces from stardom as well as people like Randle etc but really the material is too basic for any of them to shine.Fans of the music scene will enjoy it because it pokes good natured fun at the clichés within the genre but the casual viewer will find these to be easy targets without the sharpness they deserve and without a good narrative to really make it that engaging. An enjoyable film but hardly an insightful one although it has enough basic laughs to it to make it worth watching.

i have only seen this movie once, back in 1993 in NYC when it first come out. since then, i have heard nothing! it's not on amazon or any other on-line video shop (if you know otherwise, please post the address and let me know!), and i can still remember it so clearly.as so many others here have already mentioned, the "sweat of my balls" and "straight outta lokash" are the high points, along with a funny sex scene i remember when our hero says something like "i ain't goin' down there!!"if anyone knows where i can lay my hands on a copy, PLEASE let me know!

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I love the fact that they pretty much play on the myth that most rappers are essentially middle class kids who've never even smelled the ghetto but try to pass themselves off as true "gangstas". Chris Rock and the rest of the cast make this one of the funniest movies of all time as well as a great commentary on the music business. Also, Allen Payne shows that he has a great flair for comedy as he plays Rip and Candy Alexander shines as Cissy. She pretty much has fun playing the stereotypical groupie that everyone has written about from rockers to rappers. This film really is a classic.

This is by far one of Chris Rock's best works to date, and it's his first starring role! This movie has tons of talent, a tight plot (okay - you need a good ability to suspend your disbelief), and a palpable message.It quickly became something of an underground classic as the early 90s launched the careers of many gangster rap artists. This movie does a great job of parodying the rise and fall of a gangster rap group.It's got a unique urban flavor and is loaded with perhaps more race-driven humor than others may think necessary (many many MANY racial stereotypes are exploited in this movie, such as a local restaurant called "Big Ass Biscuit" where the young rappers frequented). However, it's done in a very tongue-in-cheek manner and the overall effect is hilarious, not heinous.The addition to the cast of Chris Elliot playing the role of "A. White", the rapumentary's director, is brilliant. Elliot is great at playing a white fanboy who lands the job of working for his new favorite rap group, and he fumbles through the movie as only Chris Elliot can.Phil Hartman is equally funny as Virgil Robinson, a local politician who tries to use CB4's profanity as his new platform for re-election (meanwhile, his son is addicted to CB4's music and image). The interaction between Virgil and his son in this manner represents how many parents viewed rap music as their children began to listen to it.This movie is laden with parodies too numerous to list. The soundtrack is also quite good (if you like rap music at all) and includes the song "Sweat of my Balls" - a song featured in the movie (also hysterical, complete with a stage show of large testicles being dropped from the ceiling onto the crowd).If you aren't easily offended, this movie is VERY entertaining. If you are able to look beyond the veneer of racial overtones and profanity, it also has a few points to make about the origins of "fake" gangster rap groups and their image.Look for underrated performances by Tyrone Granderson Jones as "40 Dog", Richard Gant as "Baa Baa Ack" and Charles Q. Murphy as "Gusto".I CAN'T WAIT for this to be released on DVD - if it ever will be...