I don’t think there’s a week that passes in which I do not quote Chris Rock. I’m up to an “If I was you, I would diversify my portfolio” or, “Tell us some of your cracky tales” every few days. It’s not my fault: Chris Rock is a standup god. Whenever I see a predictably racist news narrative, I find myself muttering, “That train is never late”, just like he did. All these trains, always on time.
I first saw Rock’s standup on late-night telly as a teenager, and he still makes me cry with laughter. His style is nimble, a more staccato Richard Pryor, and he’s blessed with an incisive wit, especially when skewering America as it intersects with race, men, women and culture (everything, basically). His line on white privilege is ace: “There ain’t a white man in this room that would change places with me,” he says on his DVD Bigger & Blacker, then adds gleefully, “And I’m rich!” He makes lots of films, too, but as is often the way with comedians, those are, shall we say, less gilded affairs. (The less we say about What To Expect When You’re Expecting, the better.)
Very few standups successfully make the leap from small screen to big, perhaps because the energy is so different – the dynamism of one man and his mic is hard to recreate in a 90-minute feature – but Rock looks set to change all that. His new movie, Top Five, sees him playing a standup turned movie star, having a bit of a crisis regarding his funny bone. The trailer is everything you’d want: jokes aplenty, charm, a solid cast and even social commentary. He wrote and directed it, too, which would reek of “vanity project”, except the buzz has been positive. I’ve missed you so much, Chris. Great to have you back.
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