The upcoming wedding between reality-show star Erica Long (Gabrielle Union) and Andre Allen (Chris Rock) is more demanding than the comedian expects in TOP FIVE.
TOP FIVE (Chris Rock, 2014)
Opened December 12
www.topfivemovie.com
Comedian Chris Rock finds his cinematic groove in Top Five, which serves as his own Stardust Memories. The South Carolina-born, Brooklyn-raised superstar comedian wrote, directed, and stars in the film, about a superstar New York comedian who wants to be taken seriously. The film opens with Andre Allen (a very solid Rock) being interviewed by Charlie Rose about his latest movie, Uprize!, a Haitian slave-revolt epic in which Allen plays the heroic Dutty Boukman. Allen is not afraid that his portrayal of Boukman, who helps kill tens of thousands of white people, will alienate his fan base, who adore him because of his outrageous Hammy the Bear series of cop comedies. Allen then meets up with New York Times journalist Chelsea Brown (Rosario Dawson), who is profiling him for the paper, following him around on Uprize!’s opening day. She goes with Allen as he does radio promos and visits with friends and family, including his father (Ben Vereen), ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Sherri Shepherd), and old neighborhood friends Lisa (Leslie Jones) and Fred (Tracy Morgan). Always at his side is his trusted best friend and bodyguard, Silk (a riotous J. B. Smoove), who watches out for the star when he’s not looking for some tail for himself. Meanwhile, Allen is getting ready to marry Erica Long (Gabrielle Union), a reality-show star, which means their relationship and upcoming wedding has become a spectacle for all the world to see. At first Allen is hesitant to talk to journalist Brown, but soon he is opening up to her, including discussing his alcoholism and his low point, a hysterical flashback to a drug-and-booze-crazed stop in Houston with Jazzy Dee (Cedric the Entertainer), a boisterous dude who claims to be the man to know in the city. But as Allen continues trudging through his past and imagining his future, he has some heavy thinking to do.
Andre Allen (Chris Rock) and journalist Chelsea Brown (Rosario Dawson) look for the real thing in TOP FIVE
Rock takes a huge step forward with Top Five, following 2003’s Head of State and 2005’s I Think I Love My Wife, which he also directed and starred in and cowrote. Top Five is a well-paced mix of comedy and drama, smoothly transitioning from serious moments to outrageous hilarity, particularly when Brown relates a Borat-worthy story about sex with her boyfriend (Anders Holm). New York City native Dawson (Kids, Sin City) gives a career-redefining performance as Brown, displaying a broader range than ever before, while Pootie Tang survivor Smoove proves a worthy sidekick to Rock. The film features a constant stream of comedy cameos, reaching its apex with a surprise trio in a strip club, and has a killer soundtrack, which should come as no surprise since Jay Z and Kanye West are among the producers and Questlove served as the executive music producer and co-composer. (The title itself relates to music, as throughout the film Allen asks people to name their top five favorite musicians.) At the center of it all is Rock, who ably walks that fine line between fiction and reality so often trod by writer, director, actor, and stand-up comedian Woody Allen. (Is Rock’s choice of last name in the film merely coincidental? And, like the Woodman, Rock’s personal life is hitting the tabloids, as he just announced he and his wife of nearly twenty years are divorcing.) Rock, who boosted his acting chops while starring on Broadway in Stephen Adly Guirgis’s The Motherf**cker with the Hat a few years ago, is excellent as Andre Allen, smiling that sly Guy Fawkes smile while reaching deep to evoke heartbreak and sadness. It’s a poignant performance in a film that is not afraid to take chances, much like its creator.