The Cookout

DVD Features:

Product Description:

A Rutgers University star player, Todd Andrews (Storm P), is picked first in the NBA draft and under the manipulation of his hot, gold-digging girlfriend (Meagan Good) he starts living large, replete with big house in a snobby, gated community. This doesn't go over well with his down-to-earth mom (Jenifer Lewis), who fears her boy will lose track of his roots. At any rate, it's time for the annual family cookout, and Todd decides to have it at his new digs, bringing in a caravan of eccentric family members and arousing the ire of the gate security guard (Queen Latifah). Plunging through a lot of sticky racial issues, this comedy manages to address concerns like the transition of African American culture and community, and to stay very loose and funny at the same time. Farrah Fawcett is good as the racist wife of a retired judge (Danny Glover) whom she doesn't seem to realize is African American himself (they're the angry neighbors). Rapper Ja Rule plays the requisite villainous thug from the old neighborhood determined to ride Todd's coattails to big money via some stolen sneakers. The large cast is generally inspired, but Lewis is the big standout here, transcending what could have been just another "big momma" stereotype by mixing fierce intelligence and wit with warmhearted sass. Latifah is also hilarious as the racial-profiling rent-a-cop; she also produced and co-wrote the original story.

Plot Keywords:

African American Cinema | African Americans | Cooking | Parties | Sports | Theatrical Release

Cast and Crew: