Reynaldo Rey Movies
Gospel-minded playwright David E. Talbert produces, writes, and directs this urban crime comedy concerning a pair of criminals who take a group of church parishioners hostage while attempting to rob the holy house, only to find their captives slowly convincing them to repent and give up their lawless lifestyles. Durell (Ice Cube) and LeeJohn (Tracy Morgan) are two best friends with a special knack for petty crime. Upset at discovering that his ex-girlfriend is planning to move out of state with the couple's young son, Durell knows that the only way to keep his fractured family in close proximity to one another is to raise the 17,000 dollars needed to pay off her growing debt. In order to get the money before his ex decides to make the big move, the desperate Durell enlists the aid of his scheming best buddy to rob their neighborhood church. But someone has beaten Durell and LeeJohn to the punch, and if they ever hope to get their hands on that quick cash, this bumbling pair will first have to spend an entire night in the presence of not just the almighty lord, but some of his most fervent followers as well. Katt Williams, Keith David, Regina Hall, and Chi Mcbride co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ice Cube, Katt Williams, (more)
When the traditionally minded pastor of a fundamentalist Baptist church suffers a debilitating stroke, the energetic young preacher brought in as a temporary replacement draws the ire of both his ailing predecessor and the jealous deacon who seeks to sabotage the stylish but sincere clergyman's career. Reverend Robert Gibbs has a decidedly unconventional means of preaching the gospel, so when he is recruited to stand-in for the debilitated Reverend Matthews during the latter's convalescence the congregation is at first somewhat taken aback. Eventually, however, the congregation warms to their new pastor, gradually embracing his hip style of preaching. As attendance at the California-based church begins to perk up, Reverend Gibbs makes the acquaintance of a pretty local teacher named Divine who lost her faith after losing her mother to cancer. Later, as Reverend Gibbs does his best to help restore the woman's faith, he discovers that she is in fact the daughter of the disapproving Reverend Matthews. When it begins to look as if Reverend Matthews may not be able to return to his post after all, the scheming Deacon Wells digs deep into Reverend Gibbs' past on a mission to prevent him from both becoming the permanent pastor and winning the heart of the lovely Divine. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Wesley Jonathan, Jazsmin Lewis, (more)
In this frantic urban comedy, a pair of crooks whose ambitions outweigh their good sense steal a million dollars from a New Orleans crime boss, who soon catches up with the thieves and has them killed. However, before they were rubbed out, the robbers hid the loot in an abandoned building. A few years later, the building is torn down to make room for a housing project, and the money is never found. Twenty years later, sometime college student Deion (Andrae Noel) thinks he may have figured out where the money is hidden, but he makes the mistake of sharing his theory with his Uncle Willie (Reynaldo Rey). Soon, Willie has told everyone in the neighborhood about Deion's scheme, and the race is on to see who can find the loot first. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
A politically correct accountant and a womanizing real-estate agent find their lives suddenly thrust into chaos as their generally reliable roommate announces plans to leave while handing over his keys to a beautiful actress and model from New York in a topical comedy about just getting along in life. Despite their current status as housemates, Royce (Ben Watkins) and Damien (Laz Alonso) couldn't be any less alike. Royce is a conservative numbers man whose relationship with a longtime girlfriend has just gone bad, and Damien is an opinionated playboy to whom the word "commitment" simply does not compute. When Royce and Damien's housemate Will (Mailon Rivera) announces that he has found a job in New York and that emerging actress Toni (Shawna Rodgers) will be taking his place on the lease, the duo who can't seem to agree on anything are strangely connected by their mutual discomfort with the situation. Despite some initial misgivings that make adjusting to life on the West Coast somewhat difficult for the former New Yorker, the arrival of Toni's outspoken best friend Nicole (Barri Whittaker) ultimately proves the connecting factor that can bring the reluctant new roommates together during the turbulent transitionary period. Todd Bridges and Reynaldo Rey co-star in a film that's all about dealing with the hand dealt to you by life, no matter how strange it may seem when the cards are first revealed. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Laz Alonso, Ben Watkins, (more)
This 2005 comedy from filmmaker Greg Carter finds a young woman unsuccessfully trying to live down her eccentric roots. When Audrey heads off to college, she looks forward to starting a new life without the shadow of her outrageous soul-singing parents and hip-hop siblings constantly over her. Unfortunately, just when she's finally settled in and fallen in love, the brood comes to town and reminds Audrey and all of her fellow students where she came from. My Big Phat Hip Hop Family stars Reynaldo Rey, Anna Marie Horsford, and Retha Jones. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- 2004
- Add The Robin Harris Story: We Don't Die, We Multiply to Queue Add The Robin Harris Story: We Don't Die, We Multiply to top of Queue
Robin Harris was one of the best-respected African-American comedians of his day; after making his way up the ladder the hard way by playing club gigs around the country while working day jobs, he gained his first major break when he became the master of ceremonies at the Comedy Act venue in Los Angeles. Harris' sharp wit and old-school approach earned gained the attention of a number of filmmakers, and in the late '80s he scored showy roles in Do the Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues, and House Party. However, just as Harris seemed poised to make a major career breakthrough, he died of a respiratory ailment in 1990 at the age of 37. The Robin Harris Story: We Don't Die, We Multiply is a documentary which examines Harris' short but memorable career, and includes interviews with such friends and fans as Bernie Mac, Cedric the Entertainer, Martin Lawrence, and Robert Townsend. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robin Harris
- 2004
Comedian and Hollywood Shuffle-director Robert Townsend serves up another batch of satirical sketches in this fourth volume in the Robert Townsend: Partners in Crime series. Along with humorous vignettes featuring the likes of Damon Wayans, Reynaldo Rey, and John Witherspoon, the program includes a musical performance by rapper MC Hammer. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
Rapper and No Limit Records mogul Master P directs and stars in this sequel to the urban drama I'm Bout It, which helped launch his career in 1997. Still Bout It finds Perry, aka Pistol P (Master P), fresh out of prison and eager to turn over a new leaf. After hooking up with his running buddy Vito (Silkk the Shocker), Pistol P moves in with his Aunt Tee Dee and strikes up a friendship with his nephew M.J. (Lil' Romeo), a youngster with a talent for basketball. Pistol P gets a job in a restaurant and takes some classes at a local college, but with money short and academia not suiting him, he finds himself tempted to go back to the gangsta life; however, when a gang of drug dealers led by Trouble (Ameer Baraka) begin staking out the neighborhood, Pistol P takes it upon himself to drive away the bad element for the sake of his family. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Master P
Comedian Pierre wrote, produced, directed, and starred in this urban comedy about a man who gets a fortune the easy way, but isn't sure how (or if) he should hold on to it. Dre Mitchell (Pierre) is a regular guy living in South Central Los Angeles; Dre is out of a job, and money has been tight for him recently. After the robbery of an armored car, thieves on the run from the cops stash 25,000 dollars in cash in Dre's backyard, and when Dre finds it, he's not sure if he should run out and spend his new fortune, or turn it in. Meanwhile, word spreads like wildfire through the neighborhood that Dre has come into some big money, and everyone he knows starts hitting him up for a few grand; normally, he isn't that interested in sharing the wealth, but when sultry Tasha (Sacha Kemp) is doing the asking, it's a lot harder to say no. For Da Love of Money marked Pierre's debut as a writer and director; the supporting cast includes Reynaldo Rey, Tanya Boyd, and a cameo from ventriloquist Willie Tyler and his wooden sidekick, Lester. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
An innocent family reunion descends into all-out chaos when simmering resentment and unspoken animosities rise to the surface in director Red Grant's affectionate and reflective comedy. Every year the Best and the Black families gather to fire up the grill, dust off the horseshoes, and spend the day catching up on all the latest familial happenings -- but this year things seems to get particularly ugly. Though Uncle Ringworm and Aunt Gertrude do their best to keep the peace amidst arguments dealing with everything from pimping to bad breath, nothing seems to be able to slow the downward spiral of the usually jovial annual family gathering. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Robert Townsend directs this biopic on the life of one of the great early rock & roll entertainers -- Little Richard (played by Leon). The film charts Richard's rise from his humble origins in Macon, Georgia, to his chart-topping success to his much-reported return to the Church. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Leon, Jenifer Lewis, (more)
- 1997
- R
A theme of racial harmony underlies this comedy-drama. The couple Joe (Ernie Hudson) and Annabelle Lee (Pam Grier) learn the baby they are adopting is not black but Chinese. As Julian Lee (Dante Basco), reaches teen-hood, his father dies and the adopted boy moves with his mom to Atlanta. Here he hopes to make friends with the local teens, who are somewhat perplexed by the Asian-American's hip-hop slang and high scores when he grabs the basketball. Julian intervenes when his younger brother Perry (Rashaan Nall) falls in with local gangsta Frog (Tone Loc) and his group. Meanwhile, in a parallel plot, similar problems surface for clueless foreign-exchange student May-Ling (Margaret Cho). She's baffled to find herself living with a black family, a situation leading to inventive cross-cultural comedy. The film's soundtrack combines hip-hop, funk, and Asian instrumentals. Shown at the 1997 Hamptons Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ernie Hudson, Pam Grier, (more)
Hard-core rapper Ice Cube, after appearing in such hard-hitting films as Boyz 'N the Hood and Higher Learning, played his first comic role in this picture he co-wrote with frequent musical collaborator DJ Pooh. Craig (Ice Cube) manages to get fired on his day off (though he claims it's through no fault of his own) and spends the day hanging out with his buddy Smokey (Chris Tucker) and trying to avoid his father (John Witherspoon), who wants him to find another job immediately. Smokey (whose name might have something to do with his tremendous fondness for marijuana) has even more serious problems; he was given $200 worth of weed to sell by Big Worm (Faizon Love), but he ended up smoking it instead, and if he can't come up with the money by the end of the day, he'll be in a world of hurt (and will put Craig in the same place just for being his friend). And Deebo (Tom "Tiny" Lister, Jr.), a gargantuan bully who roams the neighborhood on his bicycle, has it in for Craig, while Craig tries his best just to stay out of his way. As one would expect, Friday features a strong hip-hop soundtrack, featuring tracks by such artists as Dr. Dre, Cypress Hill, Mack 10, and Funkdoobiest, as well as old-school R&B selections from The Isley Brothers, Roger, and Rose Royce. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, (more)
What does a biographer do when the truth about his subject is far less pleasant than the legend? That is the moral dilemma at the heart of Cobb, which explores the lives of both baseball's premier hitter, Ty Cobb (Tommy Lee Jones), and the sportswriter assigned to set his story down, Al Stump (Robert Wuhl). Stump arrives at the Tahoe home of the dying Cobb to write the official life story of the first man inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame. He finds a drunken, misanthropic, bitter racist who abuses his biographer as well as everyone else. Stump must either candycoat his subject's life or present an accurate picture of a disgusting man who happened to become an American sports hero. The movie's biting focus on Cobb, ferociously performed by Jones, is not matched by its weaker representation of Stump, an imbalance which ultimately weakens the film's overall effect. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Wuhl, (more)
Hip Hop duo Kid & Play return in the second follow-up to their 1990 screen debut House Party. Kid (Christopher "Kid" Reid) is taking the plunge and marrying his girlfriend Veda (Angela Means), while his friend Play (Christopher Martin) is dipping his toes into the music business, managing a roughneck female rap act called Sex as a Weapon. Play books the ladies for a concert with heavy-hitting promoter Showboat (Michael Colyar), but when they decide to fire Play and hire a new manager, he has to figure out how to deliver them to the show or face the wrath of Showboat's female security force. Play is also in charge of arranging Kid's bachelor party, but while he's setting up a bash to end all bashes, he discovers that his three younger cousins have just arrived in town, and Kid's former flame Sydney (Tisha Campbell) has shown up hoping to put a halt to the upcoming nuptials. Multi-platinum rap act TLC appear as Sex as a Weapon, while Play's cousins are played by the members of the R&B group Immature. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christopher "Kid" Reid, Christopher "Play" Martin, (more)
Ron Shelton (Bull Durham) wrote and directed the basketball-oriented seriocomedy White Men Can't Jump. Woody Harrelson plays Billy Hoyle, a white con artist who hustles basketball games with black players, lulling his victims into the misguided notion that white men can't match up with black hoopsters. One of his victims, African-American Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes), becomes Hoyle's "agent," arranging his various inner city scams. Deane doesn't feel as though he's selling out his own people; he goes along with Hoyle to provide a better life for his wife, Rhonda (Tyra Ferrell), and son. The film breezes through several zany sequences, including one liberal-baiting satirical moment set at a black/white "solidarity" basketball game arranged by an ambitious politician. Crooked gamblers intrude upon the last scenes of the film, but Hoyle is rescued by his girlfriend, Gloria (Rosie Perez), a Jeopardy freak who realizes a lifelong dream by winning big on the Alex Trebek-hosted game show. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, (more)
The first mainstream animated feature film directly aimed at African American audiences, Hyperion Productions' Bebe's Kids is based on a comedy routine by the late Robin Harris. Voiced by Faison Love, Harris endures a "date from hell" when he goes out with the lovely Jamika. His romantic rendezvous is ruined when he is stuck with Jamika's son-as well as Bebe's kids, three little horrors spawned from three different fathers. The worst of the batch is unhousebroken baby Peewee. The film manages within its 74 minute timeframe to skewer such topics as Hip-Hop music, urban riots and whitebread theme parks. Further proof that this is not a Disney flick was provided by the folks from the Motion Picture Production Code office, who bestowed a PG-13 rating upon the film. Bebe's Kids was released theatrically in tandem with the cartoon short Itsy Bitsy Spider, which was later spun off into a TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Faizon Love, Vanessa Bell Calloway, (more)
- 1992
- Add Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story to Queue Add Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story to top of Queue
Donny B. Lord and Victor Love share the title role in Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story. The film traces the true story of young Gathers, played by Lord as a child and Love as an adult. Rising from his inner-city origins to become a basketball star at Loyola Marymount, Gathers' career is suddenly, and tragically, cut short. Co-starring are Nell Carter as Hank's supportive mother and George Kennedy as the inspirational neighborhood priest. Made for television, Final Shot was first seen in syndication during the week of March 29-April 4, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Victor Love, Donny B. Lord, (more)
Bill Duke directs this quirky film adaptation of Chester Himes' crime novel -- a heavily plotted gangster tale with a sweet love story hidden underneath. The film begins in Natchez, Mississippi in 1956. During a police shoot-out with the mob leader Slim's (Badja Djola) gang, Slim's moll Imabelle (Robin Givens) takes off with a cadre of stolen gold. As a result, Imabelle is chased by Slim's mob from Mississippi to New York. By the time she reaches Harlem, she is broke and has to figure out a way to ditch the trunk full of gold. She finds herself at the annual Undertaker's Ball, where she sees the big and dumb Jackson (Forest Whitaker), a bumbling undertaker's assistant. She spots Jackson as a mark that she can use as a cover and latches onto him immediately. She moves in with him to hide out, but Imabelle becomes taken with his innocence. For his part, Jackson falls head over heels in love with her. But the Mississippi mob catches up with her and takes her away. Jackson calls in his street-wise brother Goldy (Gregory Hines) to help him rescue Imabelle. Jackson fears that Imabelle has been kidnapped. But Goldy knows better -- he still agrees to help him but Goldy wants the gold for himself. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Forest Whitaker, Gregory Hines, (more)
Starring many of his family members, this is Tommy Chong's (of the well-known duo, Cheech and Chong) first solo production. As an outdated hippie, Far Out Man (Tommy Chong) searches to relive his lost youth by traveling across the country. C. Thomas Howell, Judd Nelson, and Cheech Marin all make cameo appearances in this far out film. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tommy Chong, Shelby Chong, (more)
Eddie Murphy, in addition to starring as Quick, the son of 1930s Harlem gambling-house proprietor Sugar Ray (Richard Pryor), also wrote and directed the film. The plotline details the combined efforts of Quick and Sugar Ray to prevent white gangster Bugsy Calhoune (Michael Lerner) from muscling in on their operation. The supporting players include Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello and Jasmine Guy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, (more)
In this comedy, a group of randy young interns turn City Hospital upside down with their romantic liaisons and their blunders. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael McKean, Sean Young, (more)
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