CB4 - The Movie (1993)

52% of critics liked it
(21 reviews)
58% of users liked it
(9,963 ratings)

Comedian Chris Rock stars in this scattershot satire of rap music in the vein of This Is Spinal Tap. This film within a film begins with A. White (Chris Elliot) screening a rough cut of a documentary he has made of the notorious CB4 rap group -- consisting of group leader Albert, also know as MC… More Comedian Chris Rock stars in this scattershot satire of rap music in the vein of This Is Spinal Tap. This film within a film begins with A. White (Chris Elliot) screening a rough cut of a documentary he has made of the notorious CB4 rap group -- consisting of group leader Albert, also know as MC Gusto (Chris Rock); Otis, also known as Stab Master Arson (Deezer D); and Euripides, also know as Dead Mike (Allen Payne). White charts the course of CB4's success, their superstar status a result of the fact that they are the only gangsta rap group who are, in fact, actual gangsters, coming direct from rap sheets to rap music. They are considered so bad that they even give rapper Ice-T pause: "I thought I was hardcore. But these guys are serious! What am I supposed to do now?" Unfortunately, at the height of their fame, their gangster pose is revealed to be a sham. Albert, Otis, and Euripides turn out to be a bunch of middle-class blacks striking a gangsta facade to look cool. But now they are in trouble. The real Gusto (Charlie Murphy), a neighborhood thug who went to prison on a drug bust, has broken out of jail and is coming for CB4. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 28 min.
Directed By: Tamra Davis
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Mar 12, 1993 Wide
On DVD: Jan 14, 2003
Studio: MCA Universal Home Video

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Tamra Davis, a musicvideo director with the well-received feature debut Guncrazy on her resume, might have really had something here had she settled on any one of the many paths the movie starts down.
David Ansen, Newsweek
Torn between celebration and sendup, CB4 misses its big target as often as it hits.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
CB4 promises sharper satire than it actually delivers.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
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.
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
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.
Hal Hinson, Washington Post
There's an unexpected innocence mixed in here that helps to blunt the pointed raunchiness (and political incorrectness) of the subject.
, Film4
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.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
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.
Stephen Garrett, Time Out
In parts it is hugely, monstrously funny.
Brad Laidman, Film Threat
An amusing look at the early days of the gangsta rappers.
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times
One of the first movies to parody gangsta rap, it does so knowingly and affectionately.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
A muddled but often funny rap satire.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
Resolutely lame in all the wrong places, CB4 is nowhere near the witty satire it purports to be.
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
A fast-paced and frequently hilarious spoof of the old-school rap world.

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Daniel J D

Watch Fear of a Black Hat instead. Because it's actually funny. And relevant. Even if you don't like rap. Especially if you like rap. Leave it to Chris Rock to take a great concept and ensure there's not a single laugh-out-loud moment in the whole film, even with Phil… More
Watch Fear of a Black Hat instead. Because it's actually funny. And relevant. Even if you don't like rap. Especially if you like rap. Leave it to Chris Rock to take a great concept and ensure there's not a single laugh-out-loud moment in the whole film, even with Phil Hartman on board. Surely, I thought, as much as I love rap music and as many times as I've heard references to CB4 in rap songs, that this film would be better, funnier, something. But it wasn't.
Chosen 7

Great comedy, an underestimated classic.

Cast

            Chris Rock as Albert

            Allen Payne as Euripides

            Deezer D as Otis

            Chris Elliott as A. White

            Phil Hartman as Virgil Robinson

            Charlie Murphy as Gusto

            Khandi Alexander as Sissy

            Art Evans as Alber Sr.

            Theresa Randle as Eve

            Willard E. Pugh as Trustus

            Louisa Abernathy as Mrs. Otis

            Halle Berry as Herself

            Al Clegg as 976-Dis

            Lance Crouther as Well Dressed Man

            J.D. Daniels as Ben

            Tommy Davidson as Weird Warren (uncredited)

            Flavor Flav as Himself

            Richard Gant as Baa Baa Ack

            Isaac Hayes as Owner

            Shirley Hemphill as 976-Sexy

            Ice Cube as Himself

            Ice-T as Himself

            Jedda Jones as Waitress

            Russell Tyrone Jones as 40 Dog

            Christopher Keene as Accountant

            LaWanda Page as Grandma

            Renee Tenison as Twin

            John Walcutt as Director

            Gerard G. Williams as Inmate

            Wayne "Crescendo" Ward as Biscuit Diner

            Sally Jane Jackson as Wacky Dee

            Melvin Jones as Inmate

            Jeremiah Birkett as Malik

            Chasiti Hampton as Tee Tee

            Niketa Calame as Albertina

            Shaquille O'Neal as Himself

            Vanessa Lee Chester as Talona

            Rachel True as Daliha
See full cast