I don't really like Chris Rock. I don't really like stand up comedians, and I thought Bad Company was pretty bad, so I wasn't first in line to see Head of State. I did see about 10 minutes of it in theaters (I walked into it after The Core-don't tell anyone), and I thought it was ok, nothing more. And that's what it basically is.
Rock plays Alderman Mays Gilliam, for whom nothing seems to go right. After the Democratic nominee for the upcoming presidental election dies, the Democratic party is looking for just a regular person, because they know they can't win. Who else would they pick except for Mays? And what seems to be a hopeless race turns around becuase Mays knows what it's like to be a normal person in America. Of course, incumbent Brian Lewis (Nick Searcy) starts a smear campaign. Soon Mays's credibility is out the window. What is he to do?
All of the humor in Head of State really came and went. For many times, there were fifteen minute stretches of laughless space. And even in between those stretches, it wasn't that funny. There were a couple places that were hilarious, but only a few of them, so I won't spoil them. Thankfully, a lot of the humor wasn't all that racist, although some was just white people acting like black people, or misinterpreting slang. Some of it, though, was smart political humor, and I'm thankful that it had some merit to it, and was just not another movie like Bringing Down the House, where, although it was funny, all of the humor was dirty and racist.
Along the way of the campaign, Mays realizes that he needs a vice president. So who else does he choose but his brother (Bernie Mac)? Although heavily advertised for Mac, he's not in it much, and he isn't really that funny. He's a mediocre comedian, making a mediocre turn in a mediocre movie.
My rating: 6/10
Rated PG-13 for language, some sexuality and drug references.
Rock plays Alderman Mays Gilliam, for whom nothing seems to go right. After the Democratic nominee for the upcoming presidental election dies, the Democratic party is looking for just a regular person, because they know they can't win. Who else would they pick except for Mays? And what seems to be a hopeless race turns around becuase Mays knows what it's like to be a normal person in America. Of course, incumbent Brian Lewis (Nick Searcy) starts a smear campaign. Soon Mays's credibility is out the window. What is he to do?
All of the humor in Head of State really came and went. For many times, there were fifteen minute stretches of laughless space. And even in between those stretches, it wasn't that funny. There were a couple places that were hilarious, but only a few of them, so I won't spoil them. Thankfully, a lot of the humor wasn't all that racist, although some was just white people acting like black people, or misinterpreting slang. Some of it, though, was smart political humor, and I'm thankful that it had some merit to it, and was just not another movie like Bringing Down the House, where, although it was funny, all of the humor was dirty and racist.
Along the way of the campaign, Mays realizes that he needs a vice president. So who else does he choose but his brother (Bernie Mac)? Although heavily advertised for Mac, he's not in it much, and he isn't really that funny. He's a mediocre comedian, making a mediocre turn in a mediocre movie.
My rating: 6/10
Rated PG-13 for language, some sexuality and drug references.