The Cookout 2004

John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press: The actual get-together is more like soggy leftovers served with cheap laughs and even cheaper sentiment. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Lacks flavor, laughs and insight. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: This is one dull party. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: Seemingly assembled from ideas on the cutting-room floor of a cancelled sitcom. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: While it claims to be about great American values such as family and love, it's been made with nary a lick of TLC. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: The Cookout is good-natured but it's a dud. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Todd's payday apparently sends comedy backward in time, and we're in the 1970s, ethno-sitcom style. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: The cast is, for the most part, fun, and the story addresses themes of family togetherness and humility in a way that won't make you gag. Read more

Chuck Wilson, L.A. Weekly: Rivera and a host of screenwriters were apparently as cowed by Lady Em as Todd; she sucks up much of the screen time, and admirable though her family values may be, they're not exactly rip-roaring funny. Read more

Robert Dominguez, New York Daily News: A lifeless comedy featuring a cast of familiar faces who must have needed the paycheck. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: Wants to be an outdoor, barbecue-grilled Barbershop but lacks the pungency and honesty of its prototype. Read more

Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle: The jokes are not just stale; they can also be labor-intensive. Read more

Joe Leydon, Variety: Proceeds at a rambling pace without developing much in the way of comic momentum or scoring many laugh-out-loud high points. Read more

Akiva Gottlieb, Village Voice: The pointlessness of The Cookout exudes a modicum of charm, but the simple-minded mess still lacks the wit and moral weight of an episode of Family Matters. Read more