Reviews for this film from our members:
- Jason Bailey @ Flavorwire
- Excerpt: For the first time, Rock’s not trying to stuff his gonzo energy into the ill-fitting box of a “normal” person in a conventional comedy; we didn’t want to see Rock doing the lame white-people-dance-funny bits of ‘Head of State’ or the even lamer Viagra gags of ‘I Think I Love My Wife.’ In ‘Top Five,’ he finds a cinematic approximation of his act: free-flowing, unpredictable, personal, spiced up with pop cultural references, political shout-outs, and a decidedly hip-hop energy, and above all else, funny as hell.
- Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: The basic outline of Rock’s script is standard romcom…but Rock uses it to examine show biz, celebrity, addiction, discrimination and family in painfully funny fashion. It’s Rock’s hip hop homage to Woody Allen and his own stand up roots.
- Andy Crump @ Paste Magazine
- Excerpt: Rock lets his humor play broadly, but he fills out the space between gags with smart writing and pointed social insights.
- Michael Dequina @ The Movie Report
- Mark Dujsik @ Mark Reviews Movies
- Excerpt: [T]he film has a lot to say about the nature and perils of fame, and it does so with Rock’s observant and caustic humor.
- Susan Granger @ www.susangranger.com
- Excerpt: A savvy social satirist adroitly balances bawdy abrasiveness with the awareness of a black man blindsided by his own success.
- Charlie Juhl @ Citizen Charlie
- Excerpt: Pootie Tang tires of the cheap laugh and wants you to take him seriously
- Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: As a film, “Top Five” isn’t successful enough to even make one’s top twenty, but this is an uninhibited chance to really see Rock at the height of his powers.
- Kristin Dreyer Kramer @ NightsAndWeekends.com
- Mike McGranaghan @ The Aisle Seat
- Excerpt: This is the movie I’ve been waiting for Chris Rock to make his entire career. It’s his stand-up sensibility perfectly transferred to film.
- [New – 5/14/15] | Ross Miller @ Thoughts On Film
- Excerpt: I don’t think it’s as deep and meaningful as it likes to think it is but there’s something to be said about a film that tries to give that little bit extra and does it in an engaging, upbeat fashion.
- Stefan Pape @ HeyUGuys
- Tom Santilli @ Examiner.com
- Excerpt: This film doesn’t quite know what it wants to be, but that being said, all of this would be forgiven if the thing was just funny. It’s not.
- Sarah Ward @ artsHub
