Chris Rock has been a comedic force for almost 40 years. Since the beginning of his stand up career in 1984, Rock has starred in 47 movies, 43 TV series, released four albums and six comedy specials and won 27 awards. He is one of the most famous comedians in the world and doesn't look to be relinquishing that status any time soon. He has displayed a remarkable amount of versatility. He quickly moved beyond stand up and acting and has written, executive produced and directed several films. These include multiple documentaries.
With three films scheduled for release in 2020, we thought it was high time to look at his 10 best movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
10 I'm Gonna Git You Sucka - 64%
One of Rock's first film roles was a minor part in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. The then-23-year-old was billed as "Rib Joint Customer." Sucka is a parody of the blaxploitation films of the 1970s and features many actors from that genre. It stars Keenen Ivory Wayans (brother of Damon and Marlon) as Jack Spade, a soldier who comes home to "Any Ghetto, U.S.A." after hearing that his brother overdosed on gold chains. Black audiences loved the film and felt it captured the spirit of the films it parodied.
9 2 Days in New York - 66%
2012's 2 Days in New York was director Julie Delpy's sequel to 2007's 2 Days in Paris. Rock stars as Mingus, the new boyfriend of Delpy's Marion. The pair have children from previous relationships. The relationship is tested when Marion's father, sister and sister's boyfriend visit her in New York. Her family was unaware of Marion's mixed-race relationship and the sexual mores of the United States.
Her family's casual racism, sexual attitudes, and Marion's upcoming photo exhibition make for a rocky two days for her and Mingus.
8 Dogma - 67%
Rock plays the Rufus, 13th apostle, in Kevin Smith's 1999 comedy. Rufus appears with Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) to assist Linda Fiorentino's Bethany. She is tasked with stopping Bartleby and Loki, two fallen angels played by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, from re-entering heaven and nullifying all of existence. They travel to the New Jersey church where Bartleby and Loki will enact their plan. Along the way, Rufus reveals that Bethany is a direct descendant of Jesus and convinces Loki to not go through with his and Bartleby's plan.
7 A.I.: Artificial Intelligence - 74%
Rock has a voice cameo as a comedian robot in Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the science fiction story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long." Stanley Kubrick was first attached to the project in the 1970s but held out for advances in CGI. Spielberg stepped in to direct in 1995. The film stars Haley Joel Osment as David, an advanced robotic child who is brought home by a couple to replace their real child while he is in suspended animation. David can love and imprints on Monica (Frances O'Connor). He searches for a way to become a real boy when she abandons him.
6 New Jack City - 77%
In New Jack City, Rock plays "Pookie" Benny Robinson. Robinson is a former stick-up kid who goes into rehab after NYPD detective Scotty Appleton (Ice-T) notices Pookie is addicted to crack. Once he is out of rehab, Pookie offers to become an informant for the NYPD and infiltrates the dominant drug runners in New York, the Cash Money Brothers. This doesn't end well for Pookie; his bloody corpse is booby-trapped by the gang and discovered by cops. The cops defuse the bomb on his body before it can explode.
5 Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted - 79%
Madagascar 3 is the highest-rated film in the animated franchise. Rock plays Marty, a zebra and one of the four main characters. Marty flies to Monte Carlo with Alex, Melman, Gloria and the lemurs to kidnap the penguins and a pair of chimpanzees and bring them back to New York. The penguins and chimpanzees are planning to use their casino winnings to fly to Africa and...bring their friends back to New York.
In the middle of all this is Frances McDormand's Chantel Dubois, an animal control expert on the hunt for the animals.
4 Nurse Betty - 83%
Rock plays a hitman in this black comedy about a waitress obsessed with a soap opera. After Rock's character murders her husband, the woman (played by Renee Zellweger) goes into a fugue state and assumes the identity of a character on her favorite show. She takes a car filled with drugs on a cross-country road trip. Rock and another hitman chase after her, eventually catching up with her. A sheriff kills Rock's character, who is revealed to be the son of the other hitman.
Nurse Betty won the award for Best Screenplay at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.
3 Top Five - 86%
Rock wrote, directed and starred in this 2014 comedy. Rock plays Andre Allen, a stand-up comic who is interviewed by Chelsea, a New York Times reporter played by Rosario Dawson. Top Five proves itself to be the vein of films such as My Dinner with Hervé and The End of the Tour as Rock's character and several real-life comedians espouse about marriage and sex. The experience inspires Andre to return to stand up comedy for the first time in years.
2 Good Hair - 95%
Rock starred in and produced this 2009 documentary about the Black hair industry. Rock explores the various ways African American women perceive hair and the lengths they will go to change it. Rock visited laboratories to learn about chemical relaxers and barbershops all over the United States to interview customers and hairdressers about popular styles of hair. He was inspired to make the documentary after his daughter questioned why her curly hair wasn't "good" and sought to interrogate the internalized beauty standards that weren't based on the hair of African American women. The film received the Special Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
1 Dolemite Is My Name - 97%
Dolemite is My Name is the first film Rock's mentor Eddie Murphy starred in since 2012. Rock has a minor role as Daddy Fatts. Murphy stars as Rudy Ray Moore, the comedian and filmmaker who made the character of Dolemite a legend. It was a welcome return to form for Murphy and saw him acting alongside the great comedic talents of both his generation and the current one, such as Rock, Craig Robinson, Wesley Snipes and Keegan-Michael Key.
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