Top Five (2014)

IMDb rating: 6.4/10

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 85%

Billed as one of the stand-out films of 2014, this movie starring comedy greats including Kevin Hart (TKO), Gabrielle Union (LA’s Finest), Tracey Morgan, Leslie Jones, Cedric the Entertainer, Michael Che, Taraji P Henson (as herself), Adam Sandler (ditto), Rosario Dawson (Briarpatch) and the writer/director himself, Chris Rock, is about a stand-up comedian called Andre Allen who became a successful actor – as a talking bear.

Andre’s real passion is his project about the Haitian Revolution, but he’s struggling to be taken seriously as a filmmaker. When he gets shadowed by a New York Times profile writer (Rosario Dawson) for the day, Andre tries to get back to his comedic roots while also juggling the demands of his fiancée (played by Gabrielle Union) in the lead up to their wedding.

Times (UK) writes, “Chris Rock approaches directing with the same fizzing energy that he brings to his stand-up comedy”; Toronto Sun says, “Chris Rock’s Top Five is very funny – no surprise there – but it’s also unexpectedly romantic”, and Guardian writes that Chris Rock “rides a wave of funny, self-aware and outrageous situations, and this is always watchable”.