A down in the doldrums Andre Allen (Chris Rock) makes a serious film (“Uprize!”) about a Haitian slave rebellion. He intends to deflect the lingering stereotype associated with years of making dumb “Hammy The Bear” movies, in which he actually wears a bear suit. In the best tradition of art imitating life, Top Five, also written and directed by Rock, actually has the distinction of being a film about Rock himself wishing to rise above the usual comedic themes. But more about the film’s serious side later. Top Five is one hell of a funny film.
Sassy and full of grit, the seriously well-casted film is a diffuse bag of Chris Rock tricks. While not always hitting the mark, they succeed in wringing the most out of a familiar-feeling concept. Allen encounters a New York Times reporter, Chelsea Brown, (an excellent Rosario Dawson) eager to do a story on him. He demurs, at first, because her fellow Times scribe, a film critic, has over the years rather cruelly trashed his Hammy series. What follows is a sequence of scenes between the Rock and Dawson where the repartee is often exceptional. Rock not only surrounds himself with comedic heavyweights–along for the ride are JB Smoove, Cedric The Entertainer, a hilarious Tracy Morgan, Kevin Hart, and small roles for DMX, Whoopi Goldberg, Adam Sandler, and Jerry Seinfeld–he also has a knack for making those around him better characters.
A naggy reality-television-actress fiancé (Gabrielle Union) is also in the picture but she’s kept at distance from the central action. As she prepares for an imminent wedding, Allen explains to Brown that he feels he owes her since she helped him get clean of substance abuse. Brown confesses to her own battle with addiction and recovery, and lo and behold we’ve got a tidy subplot.
Top Five moves along at a roller-coaster fast pace. Dawson, not to be outdone, goes toe to toe with Rock. They spar delectably as they tackle cultural and racial issues as easily as they do Rock’s colorful past. His account of his “lowest point” before recovery is a hilarious tale of eventually getting arrested after encounters with an irrepressible Cedric The Entertainer and two hookers. Throughout the film Smoove, as Silk, Allen’s longtime friend and current bodyguard, wreaks havoc with every scene he’s in. The Curb Your Enthusiasm actor has developed into a full- fledged star.
Two scenes in the film stand out. When Allen returns to his old neighborhood to trade insults and quips with his live wire old crew, they all pile into an apartment. Not least among the merrymakers are Morgan, who professes to be much funnier than Allen ever was, and a harsh yet outrageously funny Leslie Jones, who berates Allen to “stay black.” Of course, that’s exactly what he’s trying to do in shedding the Hammy The Bear image. His new film seems like a destined-to-fail, equally inane crock of stereotypes–however more serious their intention. Allen faces an interesting crossroads. Top Five handles the dilemma well enough but if you come here looking for a serious statement perhaps a clearer one is the portrayal of celebrity, which the film handles how dead-on accurately.
As the scenes filmed throughout New York hold up a mirror to what it actually feels like to be in the limelight, the film’s other great scene captures the flip side of the excitement and perils of fame. When Allen visits his old neighborhood, an older man (Ben Vereen) calls him over teasingly, yet knowingly. After ribbing Allen in front of the old man’s friends, he comes to reveal a startling secret. It sets the tone for this subtly depth-filled film that manages to not only provoke loads of laughter but an unnerving sense of discomfort. Not all is at it seems but the world goes on, with laughter still the best medicine.