ROTTEN TOMATOES: Ridley Scott Schools Cuba Gooding, Jr. in American Gangster Comments

Ridley Scott Schools Cuba Gooding, Jr. in American Gangster

by Fred Topel | August 13, 2007

Summary

Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe have the headlining roles in American Gangster, but Cuba Gooding Jr. plays a part in Washington's storyline too. He recalled a particularly striking scene where he was reminded of the clout with whom he was working. Back to Article

(1-32 of 32 posts) | Reply

patsloomis writes:
on Aug 13 2007 05:36 PM

About time Gooding is involved in a good movie, I love the guy but his recent films has been unsatisfactory.

(Reply to this)

Agro writes:
on Aug 13 2007 06:18 PM

In reply to this comment (#1037360)
Calling Cuba Gooding Jr.'s run over the past decade "unsatisfactory" is like calling child murder a "disappointment."

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yodas gooch writes:
on Aug 13 2007 06:36 PM

Yeah, kinda like Cuba Badding Snr...good to see he is picking wisely again tho

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robzass writes:
on Aug 13 2007 08:53 PM

Cuba's career is literally in the toilet now. I mean...Daddy Day Camp? Norbit? Unfunny underwear commercials? Boat trip? Snow Dogs? Some crappy direct to dvd thriller? Fighting temptations? Radio? Trust me the list goes on. Wasnt this guy win an oscar at one point? What happened? He makes Halle Berrys post Oscar career look incredible.

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thamoviemann writes:
on Aug 13 2007 09:08 PM

He has done good films such as Men of Honor, Instinct, AS good as it gets, boyz in the hood, jerry mcguire, Pearl Harbor(you either hate it or love it), Radio (it was good), and Outbreak. Rat race was even a box office hit.

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thamoviemann writes:
on Aug 13 2007 09:09 PM

H0e also did "What Dreams may come" which was decent.

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MadLib writes:
on Aug 13 2007 09:36 PM

Maybe the real question is, why did anybody associated with Jerry Maguire win an oscar?

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highdough writes:
on Aug 13 2007 09:59 PM

In reply to this comment (#1037935)
No one saw Men of Honor or Instinct, including me, mostly because they looked completely uninteresting. Pearl Harbor was an insult to humanity. The only good movie he did AFTER Jerry Maguire was As Good As It Gets, and that was filmed before Jerry Maguire came out and before he won the Oscar. Post Oscar, he's done crap.

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jacketman writes:
on Aug 13 2007 10:33 PM

You people are funny.

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highdough writes:
on Aug 13 2007 11:09 PM

In reply to this comment (#1038290)
Maybe because it was a very good movie and Cuba Gooding Jr did a fantastic job. Other than that, I don't know.

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Matanuki writes:
on Aug 14 2007 04:29 AM

In reply to this comment (#1038535)
NO one saw Men of Honor or Instinct, you say. But I did. And so can submit that those whoever didn't missed out on a couple good films. Especially Instinct. Rent it!

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deneco4 writes:
on Aug 14 2007 04:41 AM

Its gotta be better than Daddy Day Camp

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MPSolo writes:
on Aug 14 2007 05:02 AM

In reply to this comment (#1038920)
On the bright side, he's a relatively young actor with nowhere to go but up. It's something.

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Mr. Kong writes:
on Aug 14 2007 08:09 AM

In reply to this comment (#1038920)
The Last Legion will be better than daddy day camp.

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unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Aug 14 2007 10:00 AM

Yeah I'm glad he's finally in something worth while, I really want to see this. And Men of Honor was a very good movie.

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GOD90 writes:
on Aug 14 2007 10:04 AM

Cuba's a great actor, but he sucks at comedy. He was great in Men of Honor and Radio, but they tanked. AG is his return to good work. Industry-wise

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nathanpoitras writes:
on Aug 14 2007 10:07 AM

Cuba owes Ridley Scott a big, wet, sloppy one for even considering him for this movie.

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talan7 writes:
on Aug 14 2007 12:12 PM

In reply to this comment (#1038535)
Maybe if you saw his movies you could make like, an informed decision. Men of Honor was a terrific film! Instinct was a good, not great film. Outbrake was very good. Radio was hard to watch, with him acting like a retard and all, but it wasn't a bad movie.

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JohnATL7 writes:
on Aug 14 2007 12:54 PM

You have to admit he peaked and then fell way off the moutain (Radio was good though). Most actors peak and then fall a little and flucuate or plateu. Hopefully he comes back in American Gangster and presents himself as a respectable actor.

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highdough writes:
on Aug 14 2007 03:34 PM

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/p/cuba_gooding_jr/about.php

Cuba has an average rating of 37%, and it plummets after Jerry Maguire. His only `fresh' movies after Jerry Maguire were As Good As It Gets and Zoolander, which he was barely in. Radio, Instinct and Men of Honor all got ratings of less than 45% (Instinct got a dismal 29&). Now I don't agree with the critical consensus every time, but 9 times out of 10 I do. Cuba has been a main actor in only four films that were given a fresh rating (Boyz in the Hood, A Few Good Men, Jerry Maguire and As Good As It Gets). Every single one of them was filmed BEFORE he won his Oscar.

Outbreak was passable, What Dreams May Come was okay, Chill Factor was awful, Pearl Harbor, as I said before, was an insult to humanity, Radio was a second rate Nell (a cry for an Oscar, but the makers forgot to make it good), I couldn't watch much of the Fighting Temptations, and you couldn't pay me to watch Norbit or Daddy Day Camp. So I've watched all his good movies, many of his mediocre ones and a few of his bad ones. And I like him as an actor. I can only take so much, though.

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smartmoviekid writes:
on Aug 14 2007 07:11 PM

In reply to this comment (#1037793)
i completely absolutely agree with u, after his oscar, his career almost completely tanked. he went from potentially great actor to a no-talent, generic, comedic wannabe mess of an actor its just sad to see him like that

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StrikeFalcon writes:
on Aug 14 2007 10:54 PM

cuBA JUST NEEDS TO PICK BETTER FILMS TO APPEAR IN.

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jacketman writes:
on Aug 15 2007 12:28 AM

In reply to this comment (#1040376)
But he was the best actor in pearl harbor. I wished he was in it more. It would have been better. I think its harder for black actors in all honesty. He is competing against the likes of Don Cheadle, Denzel Washington, Will Smith. Its hard for him to get the great roles. There is only so many main stream movies that are geared with black actors in lead roles.

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highdough writes:
on Aug 15 2007 12:47 AM

In reply to this comment (#1041446)
He may have been the best thing in Pearl Harbor, but the movie was still crap. And I think bringing up those other black actors is a great example of just how bad Cuba's choice have been. Cheadle, who has never been a name actor until recently, has been in good movie after good movie. Denzel is rarely in a bad movie, as is Will Smith. Hell, look at Chiwetel Ejiofor. Hes got a bad name (for an audience to remember), is English (which works against him as a black man in the US), yet has been in a lot of very good films. Not a lot of its, but he's building a good resume by being very choosy. Even if he's not starring in blockbusters, no one can say he's had a disappointing career if he continues to make similar films. Cuba needs to be more choosy. Even he has admitted that in interviews. What Cuba needs is a good manager to manage his career. Maybe someone like Eric Murphy. I hear he's good.

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fish_hook writes:
on Aug 15 2007 01:33 AM

All I have to say is that everyone is forgetting Gladiator (1992). Also, I watch the trailer for American Gangster everyday. I see Denzel. I see Crowe. I hear Jay-z. I see Ridley Scott's name. This can pull off a good film without Cuba. His comedy roles are not so good. His best comedy role is the Hanes commercial. Even then, he is second fiddle to Jordan. My favorite Gooding films are when he is in second place. Whether it is Tom Cruise, Ed Harris, Robert De Niro, or Jack Nicholson, Cuba does well at the soft-sided, smiling support for the serious, hard-a**ed actors (except for Cruise). And, if Denzel pulls off an unfamiliar bad guy role like he did in Training Day, Cuba should do perfect.

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Branch Davidian Style writes:
on Aug 15 2007 10:40 AM

So, I guess I'm the only one here that absolutely despised "Jerry Maguire"? Maybe the whole TBS Superstation playing it every second day furthered my hatred of it, I don't know. That gigantic piece of cinematic crap aside, I actually think Cuba Gooding Jr. is a rather good actor. He has the ability to really make a believable character. Yes, he has been in some really questionable movies as of late, but the good movies outweigh the bad ones in this case.

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highdough writes:
on Aug 15 2007 10:45 AM

In reply to this comment (#1041466)
I haven't forgotten about Gladiator. Not unintentionally, anyway.

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LAZARUS007 writes:
on Aug 16 2007 01:46 PM

I remember Gladiator, that was a hard movie at the time... still is from a throwback POV. What happend to the main character in that movie? Anyway, he needs to quit the comedy, too much of a career risk. See how long it took Deniro to jump into that? He tried it and it was his forte after he was recieved greatly in that genre. Cuba should have done the same.
But with American Gangster coming out, like somebody said, he should be thankful, and after that, QUIT THE COMEDY THING. CUBA, NO DISS. BUT U AN OSCAR WINNER! MAKE OSCAR WORTHY MOVIES. Thank you!!!!

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criddic writes:
on Aug 20 2007 02:25 AM

Gooding is a likable actor who was lucky to get a role like the one he got his Oscar for in "Jerry Maguire." He also has the distinction of delivering one of the more memorable Oscar acceptance speeches of all-time. Of the list of nominees that year, I'd have given the award to Edward Norton or William H. Macy before Gooding. However, I think he did a good job in the movie. The best films he released after his win were "As Good As It Gets" (1997) and "What Dreams May Come" (1998). Since then, I have to agree with most people that his career has had a steep decline. Before "Jerry Maguire," he had mostly small parts in some major movies.

He's one of many actors who take whatever comes to them after winning the award, and in his case very few of them were worth doing for anything but the money. Better judgment would help. Read the scripts before signing. If you still want to do it, ask a trusted friend to read it, too. Then get a third opinion from a trusted filmmaker, preferably a great actor or screenwriter (but not the one who wrote the script). If they all give the greenlight, then commit. At least then you have a better chance of not embarrasing yourself. I know actors are supposed to be confident enough to act foolish for a role, but don't make a career out of it. Good luck.

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papillonflyers writes:
on Aug 28 2007 02:14 PM

Men of Honor and Radio was good movies. Every actor have a downfall now and then including Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, and Owen Wilson.

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HarlemGodfather writes:
on Sep 26 2007 02:48 PM

Good to see Cuba back to acting in good movies. Unfortunately, his portrayal of Nicky Barnes will be over-shadowed by the real Nicky Barnes this fall. Nicky Barnes still in the shadow of the witness protection program, has emerged in a documentary, "Mr. Untouchable", to tell his story bout what it was like to be the biggest heroin dealer in Harlem. Interesting how both American Gangster and Mr. untouchable are coming out at the same time. I wonder how'll people will compare the two, with one be the big Hollywood production, and the other being the REAL thing.

(Reply to this)

Lilnetty2 writes:
on Oct 29 2007 08:46 AM

Murder of Crows was alright. He is fun to watch, but a bit square overall. Oscar for Jerry Maguire? I didn't think so at all myself, but then again I thought it was a boring film with more hype than it merited.
Denzel is great , too. They, like everyone else in Hollywood, have done bad films. Who hasn't? Robert Redford is one of the few guys who if you see his name on a film it is usually a good project, as well as a good film.
Modern actors whom I like do some great roles and then vaporise in a puff of money and mediocre films. Now you have Steve Corell as big bank, it is hard to imagine how much lower it can go in Hollywood. I liked him a lot on The Daily Show, but how many movies is this guy going to behave in before it is too tired for America? I want the kid doing Shakespeare in New Jersey on Youtube in a film before Corell's next fartfest.

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