Top Five movie review (trailer)

He is known for the electricity and high-voltage danger he brings to his stand-up comedy routine and vulgarity is part of the patter.

Top Five is an ambitious, self-indulgent exercise, written and directed by the comedian, in which he attempts to satirise an industry which has supported him for so long.

He has roped in his comedy pals, including Tracy Morgan, Whoopie Goldberg (who doesn’t say much), Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart and Cedric The Entertainer, to play cameo roles in a bid to provide legitimacy to the project.

Top Five is Rock’s third film and he embraces a simple set-up to get his messages across.

The action centres on one day in the life of Rock’s character: recovering alcoholic Andre Allen, whose latest “serious” historical drama, Uprize, has just been released. He is preparing for his wedding to reality TV star Erica Long (Union) while also tackling media interviews about the film.

To add to the chaotic mix, he’s also being tailed by New York Times interviewer Chelsea Brown (Dawson) for a profile.

Offensive and crude in parts, Top Five allows the wise-cracking Rock to pull out all the stops in his endeavour to satirise his industry, especially in what he has to say about reality TV.

It’s an ambitious film punctuated with contrivances and impossibilities and not as hilariously funny as some American critics have made it out to be.

Fans of Chris Rock may find his antics hilarious – but it’s all down to a matter of taste in the end. It left a bad taste in my mouth.