Trailing Off: "Top Five"

Chris Rock

Welcome to the weekly column Trailing Off in which I take a look at a trailer from the past week and analyze its potential. This will be done using an obnoxious amount of analyzing and personal thoughts on the cast and crew as well as expectations. Coming every Sunday (it's called Trailing Off for a reason), I will attempt to highlight films ranging from new blockbusters to lesser known indies and give them their due. Partially to spread awareness, I do believe that there is an art to the sell and will do my best to highlight why these trailers matter or don't with approval (trove) or disapproval (trash). So please stop by, recommend some trailers, and I will see you next time.

Trailer in Discussion

Directed By: Chris Rock

Written By: Chris Rock

Starring: Adam Sandler, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Hart

- Preamble -

The truth is that there are few comedians as funny as Chris Rock. When he is on, he is on. However, that isn't always reflective in his movies. He often has to play second banana to other people or play eccentric roles in Madagascar films. He's still funny, but in a caricature sort of way. However, his stand-up is always full of insight in one of the most profane, strangest ways possible. He manages to make you care about general topics with his vibrant personality. It is almost to the point where you wish that he was getting better work as an actor. In fact, that is very much the truth because Rock is an icon now and deserves better.

In fact, there was some point around the time when he was doing interviews for I Think I Love My Wife that I sympathized on a deeper level. He sounded like an intellectual with something greater to say. He loved art films and even had a deeper appreciation for different ways of telling stories. It was an interview that stuck with me. What made it stranger is that it was his second directorial effort after Head of State. That meant that it was entirely his vision and nobody else's. Oddly, I have yet to see I Think I Love My Wife, but my sympathies for Rock remain. I hope one day his acting matches his stand-up, though that may not be in the form that I hope.

Cut to Top Five. It is his follow-up as a director to I Think I Love My Wife. In fact, he has done a mix of indie movies and studio films. He has become more diverse in the process. However, I am just wondering if he has what it takes to make a compelling film that speaks to a greater truth. I don't know much about Top Five going into this trailer. I have heard vaguely positive things. Otherwise, not much to go off of. Thankfully, we're in a time where black comedians have a better chance at being successful. Kevin Hart has headlined a lot of movies this year and somehow he pops up in this one. It looks like Rock may stand some chance at success after all. I mean, if Head of State was more often funny than not, this could be just as great.

- Dissection -

The first impression is that it is essentially an update on Tropic Thunder. Rock plays a stand-up comedian who has a run of success with all sorts of hoaky films in which he plays Hammy the Bear. Even his wife is a charade. There's so much to go on that it does seem like a black version of the same story. It could be, as Rosario Dawson interviews him regarding his recent lack of success. He is in a creative slump and even the jokes about how blacks are underprivileged in America feel like a nice alteration on the subject matter. In this regards, the film succeeds at being something deeper. It isn't just Tropic Thunder, it is a satire on writer's block and trying to maintain credibility when success gets to your head.
The only issue that really can be thrown at it is that it seems to use profanity in edgy ways. Maybe it is just to edit around a general trailer, but it comes across as a problem. Rock is cursing up a storm and a lot of cutaways feature random characters in the midst of profanity. Yes, it is edgy and has a certain spark to it, but the trailer feels like it uses it as a gimmick. Isn't it funny that they curse a lot? It sure is. 
Thankfully everything else around it looks appealing enough to be worthwhile. Yes, there's a who's who of modern black comedians in this. It is nice to see them all laughing and having great chemistry. There's even that Kanye West and Jay-Z song that is used to add a sense of life to everything. However, the funniest gag is that when providing his own top five favorite rappers, he doesn't include either of them despite using that song prominently in the trailer. His choices are better, but it still feels like a smack to the soundtrack choice. 
The issue is that the trailer looks a little bit like another mainstream film where he tells jokes and maybe things conventionally work out. There's enough spark there to make me think that it could be enjoyable, but I also feel like it uses way too many gimmicks to convince me that it is anything greater. It may just be Rock playing a Rock type, but I am hoping that there's more to it. I hope that it explores something existential about race and psyche that hasn't been explored in the black films of the modern era. So, maybe?

- One Sentence Sell -

Chris Rock stars in a film about how a Chris Rock type is burned out on being Chris Rock.

- Trash or Trove -

TROVE

It may seem like a long stretch, but there's enough here to get me to at least be curious about one day checking out. While it also has some relation to Rock's previous works, this does have a little bit of bite and it has been awhile since Rock has made a genuinely great film. I'm hoping for the best.