Chris Rock isn't what comes to mind when we think film festival headliners but his new flick, Top Five, has some serious backers—Jay Z, Kanye West and Questlove to name a few. The two rappers are co-producers in the film while The Roots' drummer is actually in charge of assembling the soundtrack, according to Rolling Stone.
The film made a stir at the Toronto Film Festival, earning a distribution deal worth a reported $12.5 million, a total that also makes the film the most valuable at the event.
Does Top Five itself have a powerful music message? Not as far as we can tell. Rock stars as Andre Allen, a standup comedian (something he has experience with), who has risen to Hollywood-level fame (something he has experience in) and must reconsider his career after running into a journalist played by Rosario Dawson (something we don't think he has experience in). The comedian/actor claimed the role was a mashup of Eddie Murphy and Kevin Hart (interesting as Hart is somewhat a mashup of Rock and himself).
Hart is one of many black comedians guest-starring in the film, which also includes appearances from Tracy Morgan, Cedric The Entertainer, J.B. Smoove, Jay Pharaoh and Sherri Shepherd. If the IMDB listing for the film is to be believed, Adam Sandler will also make an appearance.
All we can hope—after looking at the semi-dramatic plot line and the all-star cast of comedians—is that it won't just be an ethinic version of Funny People.
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