Head
of State: A Vote for Chris Rock
Head
of State: A Vote for Chris Rock
I've seen so many unfunny comedies here in the first three months of 2003,
that I found myself surprised to be laughing so hard about halfway through my
recent preview screening of Head of State. The film is, by no means,
a great comedy. But you know what? It works. It passed my one rule that I have
for comedies. It made me laugh. There are probably about a dozen really big
laughs in Head of State, and at least as many small chuckles. I liked
it, and I think many of you reading this will, too.
The film stars Chris Rock as Mays Gilliam, a Washington, D.C., alderman
pressed into service by the Democratic Party to run for President of the United
States. Believable? Not for a second. But this isn't a Barbara Kopple documentary.
Head of State is structured to give Rock the most amount of time on a
stage, with a microphone in his hand, and sounding off on the various social
ills of our time. The film takes place in some alternate-reality United States
where George W. Bush is not president and the U.S. is only embroiled in domestic
problems like unemployment, poor schools, and stifling credit-card debt.
Gilliam, though, is a man of the people. After all, he gives folks in his district
rides to work when their bus route is changed. He runs into buildings rigged
for demolition just to save a neighborhood woman's cat. Mays even knows the
local drug dealer by name and says "Hi" to him on the way to get his
gas. When both the Democratic nominee for President and his running mate are
killed in freak plane crashes, the party hand-picks the African-American Mays
hoping he will attract more of the minority vote, lose respectably, but set
up another candidate (the scheming James Rebhorn) for a 2008 run.
To be sure, while Head of State does deliver laughs, it almost comes
undone by the inexperience of Rock in his directorial debut. As both co-writer
and director, Rock needs to learn how to fight the REALLY annoying tendency
of taking a funny joke and repeating it a dozen or so times. The first time
Mays dope-slaps someone, it's unexpected and gets one of the movie's biggest
laughs. By the end of the film, just about everyone in the cast has been smacked
or
punched at one time or another, and the basic joke is no longer funny or surprising,
but tired.
Similarly, Rock milks too many laughs out of the fact that Mays is able to yell
"Security!" and get rid of anyone who tries to get in his face, and
there is a Sharon Stone gag in the film that NEVER pays off in a funny
way. The film also lacks the narrative cohesiveness of a superior comedy in
this niche like Dave or The American President (to say nothing
of the classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington). Mays has a fetching love
interest in Tamala Jones, for instance, who isn't given nearly enough
screen time for us to believe Gilliam when he proposes marriage late in the
film.
What Head of State does have going for it is the great Bernie Mac,
who has become less of an actor/comedian in the last year or so and more of
a force of nature. Give this guy a movie IMMEDIATELY!!! He is only in Head
of State for maybe 15 minutes, but he just makes the film with his presence,
his profanity, and his interactions with everyone around him.
Some of the smaller bit parts are also well-cast. Among them: Lynn Whitfield
(who looks amazing for a woman of 49) and Dylan Baker as Rock's campaign
managers; Robin Givens, as Mays' gold-digging former girlfriend; Nick
Searcy as the film's Republican rival whose campaign slogan is "God
loves America ... and no one else;" and Tracy Morgan of Saturday
Night Live fame, who plays a dimwit from Rock's neighborhood who tries to
sell stolen grocery-store meat in every scene he is in. Head of State
also makes good use of a number of Baltimore locales that stand in for Washington,
D.C., houses, restaurants, and hotels.
Head of State is smart enough to acknowledge its utter preposterousness
(yeah, I looked it up. It's a word!) in spots, but it nevertheless presses ahead
and provides viewers with a good-natured comedic fantasy. It's not a distinguished
film, but it's heart is in the right place and it sure has a lot of fun being
undistinguished.
Head of State is rated PG-13 for language, sexual and mild drug
references, and some cartoonish violence mostly directed at Robin Givens.
[Home]