“Top Five,” starring superstars Chris Rock and Rosario Dawson, is a hilarious movie that people who enjoy smart humor as well as raunchy, dirty jokes should definitely see.
The movie introduces Chris Rock’s character, Andre Allen, as a seemingly successful movie star who made his name in the comedy business. However, Allen has been trying to take his career in a different direction and do more serious works like his latest movie “Uprising,” which is about the Haitian slave revolution. However, no matter how hard he tries to break the proverbial mold, his movies are not doing very well and even Andre is starting to realize that. It is when he is promoting his Haitian slave movie that he is interviewed by New York Times reporter Chelsea Brown, played by Rosario Dawson. While she is interviewing him, he realizes a lot about himself and what he wants in life. It is through the comedic, yet truthful interactions that these two have that Andre is able to fully understand his purpose in life as well as who and what he wants in his life in regards to love and work.
Written and directed by Chris Rock, Rock is absolutely hilarious and will have audiences crying because they laughed so hard, while feeling intense emotions. His character has to deal with a lot of issues, both happening in the present as well as demons from his past. Some of these things are his overbearing reality star fiancé Erica (Gabrielle Union) as well as his battle with alcoholism and wanting to stay sober. Even though Andre has many hilarious lines and can be seen as a jokester throughout the entire film, his level of depth is astounding. There are so many human truths buried within this character that a lot of people will be able to relate to. The rawness and truth that Rock brings to the table with his character and the entire plot of the movie is commendable because these issues aren’t explored often in this way.
“Top Five” is a comedy and the comedy was great. There was so much comedic talent ranging from Cedric The Entertainer to JB Smoove to Kevin Hart, all of whom understand the art of comedy and are pros. Their timing was impeccable and all the jokes suited their characters. Each cast member had great chemistry with each other and everyone’s acting just seemed so natural. Some of the cast members are friends in real life and you can really tell throughout the movie that everyone enjoyed working with each other and everyone fed off each other’s energy.
Overall, this movie has a lot of great things going for it. All the cast members were flawless and Chris Rock, as a writer, director, and actor did an amazing job with this movie. A lot of laughs were had throughout the film. So much was said in “Top Five,” and it is so unique that it should be on everyone’s “must watch” list.
“Top Five” is now playing.
-Vinesh Vora
