CB4

Director: Tamra Davis Tamra Davis

Overview

"Tamra Davis directs Chris Rock in the rap comedy CB4, which comes to DVD with a pair of transfers. The widescreen transfer preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and is preferable to the standard full-frame image. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Surround. Spanish and French subtitles are accessible, and the soundtrack is closed-captioned. There are no supplemental materials of any consequence. This Universal release is solid and should please fans of the film as well as those unfamiliar with this hip-hop Spinal Tap."

Product Details

Release Date:	01/07/2003
UPC:	0025192261220
Original Release:	1993
Rating:	R
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:29:00
Sales rank:	49,195

Special Features

Closed Caption; [None specified]

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Chris Rock	Albert
Allen Payne	Euripides
Deezer D	Otis
Chris Elliott	White
Phil Hartman	Robinson
Charlie Murphy	Gusto
Khandi Alexander	Sissy
Arthur Evans	Albert Sr.,Alber Sr.
Theresa Randle	Eve
Willard E. Pugh	Trustus,Actor
Tyrone Granderson Jones	40 Dog,Tashana,40 Dog,Inmate,Waitress
Rachel True	Daliha
Victor Wilson	Lieutenant Davenport
Richard Gant	Baa Baa Ack
J.D. Daniels	Ben
Stoney Jackson	Wacky Dee,Tamika,Wacky Dee
La Wanda Page	Grandma
Louisa Abernathy	Mrs. Otis
Saba Shawel	Tawana
Vanessa Lee Chester	Talona
Chasiti Hampton	Tee Tee
Wayne "Crescendo" Ward	Biscuit Diner
John Walcutt	Director
Jeremiah Birkett	Malik
Christopher Keene	Accountant
Lance Crouther	Well Dressed Man
Shirley Hemphill	976-Sexy
Mari J. Sahley	976-Piss
Al Clegg	976-Diss
Ice-T	Himself
Ice Cube	Himself
Eazy-E	Himself
Flavor Flav	Himself
Shaquille O'Neal	Himself
Isaac Hayes	Owner
Gerard Williams	Inmate
Reneé Tenison	Twin
Niketa Calame	Albertina
Halle Berry	Herself
Tommy Davidson	Weird Warren (uncredited)
John Barnes	Composer

Technical Credits

Chris Rock

Nelson George

Robert LoCash

Tamra Davis	Director
Chris Rock	Screenwriter
Nelson George	Screenwriter,Producer
Robert LoCash	Screenwriter
Sean Daniel	Executive Producer
Brian Grazer	Executive Producer
Kimberly Hardin	Casting
John Hartigan	Special Effects
Bob Minor	Stunts
Ultimate Effects	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

It's pretty easy to tell that CB4 is Chris Rock the fledgling Saturday Night Live cast member, rather than Chris Rock the Oscars host. Not that Rock has ever mastered the screen the way he's mastered standup, but he's definitely still finding his footing here. His parody of gangsta rap is surprisingly toothless, which is counterintuitive, given all the gold dental work on display. Rock's co-writer, Robert LoCash, doesn't bring enough blatant silliness from his work on the final two Naked Gun movies, and Rock should have learned a thing or two by appearing in Keenen Ivory Wayans' I'm Gonna Git You Sucka! Maybe director Tamra Davis wanted CB4 to be more This Is Spinal Tap than Airplane!, but it's not nearly subtle enough to pull that off. The result is a boring middle ground between the outrageous and the sublime. Spoofs like the N.W.A rip-off "Straight Outta Locash" feel more like the work of Weird Al Yankovic than a sharp satirist, since the song uses N.W.A's same beat and lyric structure, and the original lyrics are so vulgar, they can't even be exaggerated for parody. Still, some details are pretty observant and funny. Character names like Stab Master Arson get the criminal posturing of early gangsta rap down perfectly, and for a film that came out in 1993, CB4 feels prophetic about real-world rap-related drive-bys like the deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. It also recognizes the ongoing reality that some of rap's biggest purported criminals grew up in some of suburbia's richest neighborhoods. Fans of Comedy Central will be interested to see the film's villain played by Eddie's brother Charlie Murphy, over ten years before he surfaced as a popular member of the Chappelle's Show ensemble.