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There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

'Top Five' is Chris Rock's third directorial effort - and it is better than 'Head of State'! I love Rock as a stand-up comedian, but I feel like he still hasn't quite got it all together in terms of acting/directing. This is by no means a bad film - it's just not his, or anyone involved, best work. It's partially-autobiographical: comedian turns actor, cashes in on simple family-friendly films, gets pigeon-holed, tries to branch out into 'serious' films, flops. In reality, it's almost an Eddie Murphy biopic - hugely successful comedian, drug/alcohol issues, simple family-friendly films ('The Nutty Professor', 'Doctor Dolittle', 'Shrek'), then 'serious' films ('Dreamgirls', 'A Thousand Words').Andre (Rock) starts off as an unlikeable, self-obsessed celebrity, engaged to an even more unlikable reality-TV "star" (Union), but is interviewed by Chelsea (Dawson) for an article and lets his guard down. The two of them conversing are some of the better scenes, as Dawson is such a great disarming actress - impossible to not love. You get some (hopefully not based too much on reality) anecdotes and a few funny moments. There's room for plenty of good actors/friends-of-Rock's - Smoove, Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer, Romany Malco, Kevin Hart, Adam Sandler & Jerry Seinfeld - but none of them get enough time to do anything too funny/great.The eponymous "top five" is the question Rock asks others to see who their favourite rappers are - purportedly to 'test' their credibility. I wish Rock has focussed a little more on his top five attributes - being funny, multiplied by five! The film has a decent romantic angle and a good ending, but it not great, nor poor.

Top 5 is a comedy starring Chris Rock as a comedian turned major celebrity and his attempts to reinvent himself and his career with a serious drama that he believes will help him prove to himself and the world that he's not just another funnyman. If you're sitting around thinking to yourself that this summary sounds strangely similar to the plot of Birdman, well you're right! This happens to be yet another example of Hollywood coming up with similar ideas for films at the same time and I know some of you are thinking, "well if this movie is the same as Birdman and this one stars Chris Rock, who's track record in film is far below stellar, then I'll skip it." Well I'll tell you this, you should definitely reconsider because against all odds, for the first time in many years, Chris Rock delivers! From what I understand, Chris Rock took a different approach to making this movie and it really shows. His previous films showed a lot of signs of a movie made by committee with a lot of pulled punches and soft comedy that seemed much less caustic and biting than Rock's stand-up or anything seen in Rock's 90's sketch comedy in The Chris Rock Show. This movie however, was done with Rock squarely in the driver's seat acting as the writer, director and star and he does a good job in all respects creating a comedy showcase that had me laughing out loud in the theater and overall just out and out thrilled that old school Chris Rock was back and truly better than ever. Perhaps the best thing about the movie is that Rock is not alone in this film. Some pretty big names came out to help carry this movie including Gabrielle Union who plays Rock's fiancé, Rosario Dawson who plays an interviewer trying to get his life story and dozens and dozens of other comedians that drop in here and there to fill out the cast. The comedians really make this movie. Cedric the Entertainer, JB Smoove, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan and many other names great and small are here that I can't even begin to tell you about them all and they each do their part to contribute a verse to this kick-ass movie. Another good thing about this movie is the fact that it isn't afraid to tell edgy jokes or show nudity like so many great comedies in the 80s did. Nothing is off limits and nothing is too sacred or taboo to poke fun at. It's comedy with teeth and I loved it from start to finish. If I had to say anything bad about it I would have to say that it does have a bit of a time juggling all the balls it has in the air but by the end, all the loose ends are tied up in a pretty sweet package.On the whole, I really enjoyed this movie and if you're a fan of comedy and stand-up comedians then you'll like this one too. Top Five gets a 4...out of 5.

Before I begin my review, I'll start by saying, I will not be surprised if IMDb removed this, because 99% of their users are whites("caucasians" if you care about being P.C). Please actually take the time to see this movie before you decide to skip. "Top five" is critically acclaimed and has won a handful of awards; how come it has such a low rating?The reasons for the low rating is because IMDb has so many caucasians on its platform.If you think I'm being ignorant, look up great black films like "Malcom X", "Do the right thing", "Menace 2 society", "Catch a fire", "Jungle fever", "12 years a slave". I could go on.Then, compare these movies to mediocre caucasian films like "Fault in our stars", "The notebook", "Trainwreck" "Bridge of spies" e.t.c and you'll see what I'm talking about.Top five is a brilliant romantic comedy that tackles racial issues brilliantly ( that's what pisses off the racist on here). The directing and cinematography is exquisite.You can tell that Chris Rock is inspired by Woody Allen, as he uses the same camera techniques you see in "Manhattan", "Bananas", e.t.c.I was actually expecting the reviews to point out the obvious homages to Woody Allen throughout the film, but I guess these racists were to irritated by the pro black messages to actually see the brilliance of this film. The storyline is nothing original, but the characters and pacing are top notch. I enjoyed the chemistry between Dawson and Rock.I laughed all the way through. Again, you'll have no problem laughing if you are a normal person and have no hatred towards black people. Top five is the best rom com since "500 Days Of Summer."

Review: This movie felt more like a documentary than a feature film because it's about Chris Rock going around New York with a journalist before he's due to get married to his money hungry girlfriend. Whilst going around New York introducing his family and friends to the journalist, he questions his ability to be a comedian because a lot of his previous work was done when he was an alcoholic. He decides to take on a serious film about slavery but it doesn't really go down well with his fans. With all of the pressure of stardom surrounding him, Chris Rock finds his true self when he sees the comedians on stage and the laughter from the audience makes him feel right at home. Personally, I really didn't find this movie that funny and a lot of the script is totally pointless. You can definitely tell that Chris Rock wrote and directed this movie because of the usual black jokes and the whole top five rappers of all time theme but the film felt like it was going nowhere right from the beginning. I've always found Chris Rocks comedy quite annoying, along with his squeaky voice, so I should have known what to expect before I watched it. I liked the fact that he brought loads of other comedians into the project and the scenes with his family were quite funny but I was expecting much better from a comedian that has been in the game since the early 80's. Disappointing!Round-Up: Although I didn't really enjoy this film, it's always good to see a man make a profit in the tough movie world. At the unbelievable age of 50, Chris Rocks acting career started in 1985 in a movie called Krush Groove, as a person just standing in the street and then he progressed to actually having lines in Beverly Hills Cop II in 1987 with his idol, Eddie Murphy. He then had a brief appearance in Miami Vice in '87 and then he had a role in the very funny I'm Gonna Git You Sucka in '88. If your into black cinema then you will remember him as Pookie in New Jack City in '91 and then his acting career blossomed whilst still going around the clubs performing his stand-up. At the age when black cinema was booming, he starred alongside his idol Eddie Murphy again in Boomerang and played the lead in the funny CB4 which was a comedy that was based on the group NWA. After that he added his voice to Dr. Dolittle as Rodney the gerbil and he had a major role in Lethal Weapon 4 and Dogma. In 2000 he starred alongside Morgan Freeman in Nurse Betty and he played the lead in the disappointing Down to Earth, which didn't go down well with audiences but he bounced back in the popular Pootie Tang, which I found really amusing and he starred alongside Anthony Hopkins in Bad Company. He then starred alongside the late, great Bernie Mac in the disappointing Head of State in 2003, which he also directed and he starred alongside his long time friend Adam Sandler in the Longest Yard. After that he decided to turn to animation and he voiced Marty in the popular Madagascar franchise before directing I Think I Love My Wife in 2007, which I was quite disappointed with. After another Madagascar movie, he narrated Everybody Hates Chris from 2005-2009 and he teamed up with Adam Sandler again in the Grown Ups franchise, which I didn't really find that funny. He also starred alongside some funny stand-up comedians like Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan and Kevin Hart in Death at a Funeral and he played the lead in the disappointing 2 Days in New York and What to Expect When Your Expecting after releasing another Madagascar and Grown Ups movie, that finally brings you up to date to this film. You can definitely tell that he has had an amazing career that has grossed over $2Billion at the box office. He didn't take the easiest route to stardom but at 50 years old, he really does have a lot to look back on, in terms of the amount of work he has dedicated to cinema. My hat goes of to him! Budget: $12million Worldwide Gross: $25.5millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their comedy/romance movies about a comedian whose been followed around by a journalist to discuss why he has turned to serious films after being a comedian for so many years. 3/10