Review of Top Five (2014) by Harry W — 07 Sep 2015

Being a Chris Rock film which received genuine critical acclaim, Top Five sounded like an intelligent comedy.

While Chris Rock films have a tendency to be little more than guilty pleasures with racially stereotypical humour, Big Five presents an all new standard of material to him. The effort he makes proves to be so natural, and yet it is so innovative for him that it takes some adjusting to embrace that it is actually him. But more impressively is the fact that the film is his answer to Citizen Kane. Serving as not just the star of the film but also as the writer and director, Chris Rock really makes something out of Top Five. The film feels much like Billy Crystal's directorial debut on Mr. Saturday Night, but the structure is more consistent and the scope is more sensible.

The way that Big Five is structured has it unfold as a singular interview, playing out like a day in the life of the main character with a series of flashbacks as a means of characterizing the protagonist. As the film is so light in nature and easy to watch, this plot structure ends up working. And as the film is stylized like an interview, the sense of development comes from the progressing relationship between Andre Allen and Chelsea Brown. As it goes on, the natural mood of the film just sets in. This is one of the best things about the film, it just feels so realistic. The subject matter, characters and atmosphere all feel believable in a style that Hollywood rarely ever manages to acheieve. The defiance of Hollywood narrative conventions and lack of climactic drama may deter some viewers, but those who are sick of familiar narrative elements should find plenty of surprise and genuine entertainment value in Big Five. I know I did.

Big Five has a premise which has strong characters and themes to it, but at the same time there is clever humour iconic of Chris Rock's style mashed into the story at times where it happens naturally without the film pausing to tell a joke. This allows the narrative to develop naturally while letting viewers laugh at the right moments with precise timing. It is impressive because the way that the comedy and drama blends so easily is a feat difficult enough to achieve without the text in question being the first effort from the director to be marginally well received by critics. The film makes social commentary on the concept of an actor trying to break typecast as well as the shallow nature of reality TV among many other things. What's impressive is that the screenplay keeps all this together while even managing to touch upon edgy subject matter such as alcholism and false rape accusation. And yet the whole time, the comedy and drama is as natural as it is real life. The film is touching and worthy of many laughs, but it always feels far from artificial which is impressive. To simplify what I'm saying, Chris Rock's dedication to telling a really strong story and keeping audiences having a good time ends up being the basis for everything in Big Five, and it is such a refreshing turn for his career.

But one of the most charming aspects of Chris Rock's many contributions to Big Five is the nature of his performance. The man really tones down his natural comedic persona for his performance. The man is still really funny, but it is to the extent that he has to put anything on for the role. Instead, Chris Rock delivers the most real performance he has ever brought to the screen as Andre Allen. He depicts a perfect level of charisma, refusing to take on a larger-than-life angle about the character or tone down his charisma to the point that he is just going through the motions. Instead, he pulls back the comedy and supplements it with drama so that his effort is both touching and funny to match his ambitions with the rest of the film. Chris Rock is slick and charming in his role, putting an unexpected level of emotional depth into his role without ever giving off the feeling that he is trying too hard since everything clearly comes naturally to him. He gives himself a strong character and directs himself through a performance which is very straightforward and organic, effectively ensuring that he is able to carry the film on his shoulders as the backbone of the behind the scenes work at the central character in the story.

Rosario Dawson similarly reaches out to viewers with a sense of realism. Delivering all the dialogue as naturally as it comes to her, Rosario Dawnson delivers a very restrained effort where her more effective moments are incredibly realistic. Without ever pushing the limits on naturalism in her performance, Rosario Dawnson manages to keep viewers engaged with her naturally consistent charm and emotional sensibility. She brings some truly touching moments to the film and shares a beautiful chemistry with Chris Rock which brings an increase in credibility to both cast members as the interaction between teh two is all so organic. Rosario Dawnso delivers a beautiful effort in Top Give, and it is one of her greatest performances to date.

The extensive cast of the film also features appearances from greats like Cedric the Entertainer and Tracy Morgan in some hilarious moments. And the one scene which features cameoes from Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld and Whoopi Goldberg altogether is one of the most brilliant moments in the film where the contrasting approaches to humour all confront the same subject matter in a sequence of sheer comedic brilliance.

So Top Five lacks the conventional style of cinematic dramatization that most Hollywood viewers are familiar with, but with Chris Rock working the film at so many different angles, the feature ends up being an innovative and touching story which never fails to make audiences laugh or feel.