Chris Rock's "Top Five" (1 Viewer)

Attended an invite screening tonight, and I have to say it has been a long time since I've seen a film that made me laugh quite as hard as Top Five.
Top Five is an outrageously funny.. but what makes it so is that the funniest moments come from a somewhat dark place that makes you cringe at the same time you are howling out loud. Chris Rock's character, Andre, recounts how he hit rock bottom and knew he had to change his ways as an alcoholic through a long sequence detailing the kind of people he hung out with in a sequence that was set in Houston and ended up with a bedroom scene that had me double up as with physical comedy in a way that just killed. Outside of Borat, I can't think of any film that took a concept that far and did it so incredibly well.. but unlike Borat, the viewer always knew that while it was funny for us - this was really the moment where someone realized their life had gone really wrong.

Their is a surprising amount of heart in Top Five, even for the corny elements that didn't quite work - a little too hammy - the film as a whole offers more outright hard laughs than anything I've seen in a theater in years, and it did it in a way that didn't scream "THESE ARE THE JOKES, YOU SHOULD LAUGH".

It's hard to say it of a comedy, but "Top Five" probably moves into MY Top Five films of the year; it is really that good, and I think it will be a film a lot of people will find that they want to re-watch when it comes out on Blu.
Make the effort and go.


4.75 / 5

I wanted to like "Top Five". I hoped to like "Top Five". I expected to like "Top Five".

I didn't like "Top Five".

It's a mess of a story, and Rock seems afraid to commit to drama, so he undercuts serious moments with laughs even though those jokes hurt the movie. It doesn't help that Rock's a terrible actor - scowling and smirking do not a performance make.

Massive disappointment!

I'm in the middle, some parts were funny/sad. I liked Rosario Dawson's role, she and Rock had decent chemistry. The send-up on reality TV stars was maybe too easy, but some side-way hijinks were silly enough to laugh at and laugh with. The cameos were unexpected, but fun nonetheless.

I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.

I dug it. There were definitely parts that had me laughing but it was a different movie from what I was expecting.

Patrick Sun said:

I'm in the middle, some parts were funny/sad. I liked Rosario Dawson's role, she and Rock had decent chemistry. The send-up on reality TV stars was maybe too easy, but some side-way hijinks were silly enough to laugh at and laugh with. The cameos were unexpected, but fun nonetheless.

I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.

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Dawson was good - probably too good, honestly, as her presence made Rock's lack of acting ability more obvious. When plopped next to an actual actor, he seemed even less capable...

What is the meaning of the title?

It's a question, what's your top five rap acts (I think it as rap acts, or music acts)...when the Chris Rock character asks other folks in the film.

Patrick Sun said:

It's a question, what's your top five rap acts (I think it as rap acts, or music acts)...when the Chris Rock character asks other folks in the film.

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I have to admit that I don't quite get the reason that theme is used as a title, though. The "who're your top 5 rap artists?" thing seems semi-random throughout the movie and I can't figure out why Rock thought it made sense as the movie's title.

Going into the movie, I thought there would be a bunch of different "what're your top 5?" scenes about a variety of subjects - like it'd be a question the lead character asks all the time and on a mix of areas. Then the title would make more sense - or if there was a "what're your top 5 days?" and at the end, the Rock character picked "today". Schmaltzy, yes - but at least it makes sense!

As it stands, the title seems almost random to me - unless I'm missing something!

It's a "getting to know you" kind of question.

Hell, there's a "Top Five Christmas Movies" thread going on right now in this movie forum... LOL!

Patrick Sun said:

It's a "getting to know you" kind of question.

Hell, there's a "Top Five Christmas Movies" thread going on right now in this movie forum... LOL!

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I understand the sort of question it is and its usage in the movie - it just doesn't seem to make sense as a title to me, though. It still seems like a random title to the movie and it does nothing to tell us anything about the flick itself.

I guess "Chris Rock Tries to Be Woody Allen" was already taken as a title...

I thought this movie was really boring. I think I laughed maybe once, but it did make me cringe a couple of times. I give it maybe half a star.

I love Rock as a standup but his movies have never done it for me and this was no exception. Bland and featureless, i barely laughed at all.