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May 26, 2015lukasevansherman rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Ever since I saw him on "SNL" in the early 90s, I've liked Chris Rock and found him funny, although he's struggled to find a film project that highlighted his talents and so he's done a lot of mediocre stuff like the "Grown Ups" movies. With "Top Five," which he also wrote and directed, he's finally hit the mark. He doesn't have a lot of range as an actor, so it's appropriate he's playing, like Louie C.K., a loosely fictionalized version of himself: an actor/comedian whose made a series of dumb cop movies about a gun-totting bear who wants to be taken seriously and so makes a movie about the Haitian slave revolt. The possibility of a self-indulgent vanity project is high and, yes, Rock casts two beautiful actresses (Rosario Dawson and Gabrielle Union) and gets all his famous friends (Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, Tracy Morgan) to show up. But it mostly works, due to its charm and wit and lots of funny people. Rock's model here seems to be Woody Allen's "Stardust Memories," in which Allen played a director who no longer makes funny films. The difference is that "Top Five" is much funnier than "Stardust Memories" and Rock is far less neurotic. It doesn't entirely avoid cliches, especially in the relationship between Rock's character and Dawson's, a journalist who is following him around for a day. DMX has a great cameo. The title refers to characters ranking their favorite hip-hop acts. My top 5: 1. Run-DMC 2. Wu-Tang Clan 3. Beastie Boys 4. Missy Elliott 5. Tribe Called Quest. Sixth man: Jay-Z.