Also Starring:
Rosario Dawson (Men in Black II)
Gabrielle Union (Bring It On)
JB Smoove (Pooty Tang)
Cedric The Entertainer (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events)
DMX (Romeo Must Die)
Kevin Hart (This Is the End)
Romany Malco (40 Year Old Virgin)
Anders Holm (Workaholics)
NOT Tim Meadows
Despite the absurd mustache Chris Rock is , this is one charming, slightly offensive, romantic film.
While casual swearing in films is often used as a crutch, the dialogue Rock gives his characters is so natural, brash, and creatively abusive of standard politeness that it can't help but be amusing. There are many jabs directed towards Tyler Perry, and Rock, thankfully seems to have gone more in the direction of Judd Apatow. This isn't as racially divisive a film as it's marketing suggests. (Although perhaps that was mostly because at my screening, an unexpected take over by an R&B station may have skewed that sensibility- To the oblivious lady in the yellow jacket and the deep soulful voice of that crazy haired walrus, I would like to say that my life will now have as much Tom Joyner now as it did when he was aired on your station.)
The central theme is quite simple, Top Five takes the realities of fame and gives them a relatable focus. Letting us, those who are not dodging eyes everywhere we go, get a taste of celebrity. The message to take away through all the jokes and all of the semi-autobiographical detail is that we need to strive to make the hard choices but know that sometimes we over think things. That we should do what makes us happy in the simplest way.
The year of originality continues with this quaint, often funny, original film. A small story told with characters that are practically real and filled with humor that reminds you of how funny Chris Rock truly is. He puts out a story that has personal touches and a sense of reality that his recent works with Sandler have lacked. A call back to greater days of Pootie Tang and Down to Earth.
There is some gross stuff here but it's balanced quite nicely with silliness. The comedy comes by way of honesty making it kind of refreshing. We are taken through a trying time with the character, that kind of crisis that we assume all celebrities might be going through at some point. I was particularly reminded of Steve Carell and Dave Chappelle (rhyme not intended but happily accepted). People who fear having to be funny all the time and at such a high level. (Not that Hammy the Bear is top notch entertainment) The film's focus on the imminent wedding and the tidy schedule filled with expected stops and scenarios lend themselves to spontaneous hilarity.
The drawback is when the film decides it wants to be a romantic comedy. There are shifts towards the cliched flirtations but eventually the sentimentality redeems itself though the humor. Another minus is that we, again, are given the illusion of strong women who, in the end, are yet again nothing without a man in their lives. There was such hope for Dawson's stealthy journalist character too before she became an apologetic, love struck fan.
To make up for that folly, Rock knowingly takes control of the way the background characters reacted. People loved Hammy The Bear. People wanted to love Andre Allen. That helps us, as a film audience, be able to side with this guy and buy that he deserves his fame.
Repetition is used throughout this movie and to great effect. Jokes of the moment and common phrases like the titular Top Five, or "rigorous honesty," that lingered throughout either scenes or the whole movie help hold together what could otherwise have been just another outlet for raunchy jokes.
This movie has more cameos shoved in than words in a Gavin DeGraw chorus. And like said chorus, they work so good. DMX was beautiful. I want to marry DMX's cameo. Adam Sandler and Jerry Seinfeld would seem like odd fits (not to mention Whoopi) but they were understated enough to stand out in a way that reminds you that they too are truly funny people and not just overfamous has-beens. That is the real triumph of this film, getting all these people together, some for just seconds, and showing that they are really funny. The homecoming scene, featuring a dose of past and present SNL cast members was a riot.
As a director, Rock employs some fancier than expected storytelling techniques to get this much heart in such short a time frame. Such a fantastic and delightful ending that leaves you in the driver's seat to power home the character's arc while avoiding having to show the obvious rom-com style run back. But seriously, bring back the goatee, Mr. Rock, I can't abide that gross lip garden.
Bottom Line: In the style of Rock's friend Louis C.K., he manages to construct an engaging and occasionally riotous product that doesn't disappoint. It's not transcendent but it is worthwhile.
8 out of 10
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