Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Though he began in stand-up comedy, Andre Allen hit the big-time as the star of a trilogy of action-comedies about a talking bear but now he wants to be taken seriously. His passion project about the Haitian Revolution, a movie called Uprize, was panned by the NY Times film critic. A couple days before the wedding to his reality star fiancée, he's forced to spend the day with Chelsea Brown, a profile writer for the New York Times. Unexpectedly, he opens up to her, and as they wind their way across New York, he tries to get back in touch with his comedic roots.
Top Five is a semi-autobiographical comedy from Chris Rock that works best as a candid, conversational portrait of Black celebrity and creative identity. The plot is engaging and personal, drawing on Rock's own anxieties about artistic legitimacy, though it follows a fairly predictable romantic-day-in-the-city arc. The acting is solid — Rock and Rosario Dawson have genuine chemistry, and the cameo-laden ensemble adds energy — but few performances are truly exceptional. Cinematographically it's serviceable New York indie filmmaking, functional but unremarkable. The novelty is moderate: the film's confessional tone and showbiz self-awareness give it a distinct voice, but the 'comedian wants to be taken seriously' premise is well-trodden territory. The ending deflates somewhat, resolving in a way that feels safe given the sharpness of what preceded it.