Review of Top Five (2014) by Abel H — 11 Mar 2015

Top Five is the story of Andre Allen (Chris Rock), a comedian and actor who is trying to navigate the world of celebrity and transition into becoming a "serious actor". All while his engagement to reality TV star Erica Long (Gabrielle Union) is being publicly broadcast for her reality show.

I can't say i'm a huge fan of Chris Rock's previous work; and seeing as how this film was directed, written and starred him, my expectations weren't exactly set high. That being said, while I found much of this film to be somewhat contrived and cliched, at it's core it's quite a sweet film.

Chris rock is decent in this film, not anything special, but not bad either. Rosario Dawson was good as the New York Times reporter, it seemed there was some chemistry between the two of them and it showed on screen.

There was one scene in particular that was above average and that's the scene where Chris Rock's character returns home to see his friends and family. As they sit around joking and telling stories of the past we learn a lot about Andre Allen. This was one of the sweetest and most heartfelt moments in the film, which I put down to the honesty of the screenplay.

Unfortunately, that scene is probably the only part of the film where it sores. I felt as if Chris Rock's writing relies too heavily on plot rather than character and as a result, the film spirals downwards into cliche and predictability. There are a few cameos from well known comedians, that while fun, are completely pointless, and there are plot twists that while not always totally predictable, feel formulaic and a little too neat. Having said all that, I don't think this film is trying to be anything more than it is, which is a fun, unchallenging, lighthearted rom com. and beneath its contrivances, there is a sweet core.