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President Rock

Another day. Another script review. Hot off the press is Miss Jones' take Chris Rock's Head of State. I had the chance of reading it too and it was a riot. It has serious potential to be a surprise hit in two months. To finish off the first week of our script review marathon, our very own Webmaster, John Shea will report on The United States of Leland. I'll add a little dose of wackiness to the next issue with a brand new edition of The DeadPool Mail Diary. Don't miss it...

Head of State Script Review

MAYS
How can you make drug policy if you never smoked chronic? I'm a real American... one who's been broke, one who's been high, and one that wants to help the country. America is the greatest country in the world, so I think it's quite obvious that God has blessed America already. So tonight while I'm on stage in front of the world, I wanna say, 'God Bless Africa' and 'God Bless India' and 'God Bless Bosnia.'

“Is that the greatest Chris Rock quote or what? Well, I take that back. I have to say that Chris Rock's greatest quote would have to be 'How much fo just one rib?' spoken in that ageless classic, I'm Gonna Get you Sucka!. Instead of ribs, though, he's talking politics these days. And if America isn't ready for a black president, Hollywood certainly is. For Hollywood has long supported the advancement of colored people in executive level positions, especially those in which the person is in charge of massive fleets of ugly intergalatic aliens traveling back and forth through worm holes in the year 2020. (smile) Seriously...

Head of State isn't a sci-fi thriller, though some may label it as such in 2003. One need only mention Chris Rock's name for you to know that contributing creatives went down the pure comedic route. With this project Rock embarks on new territory claiming two creative powerhouse titles, co-screenwriter and co-director. He's sharing the love with Ali LeRoi, the same man who penned Down to Earth and produced the almost unbearable to watch, Pootie Tang. The other funny man Chris, Chris Tucker, actually had a black president project in the works back in 1999 called Mr. President which he was also set to write and direct. That project is now declared inactive even though Rock's first draft wasn't penned until 2001. Sounds like a case of Hollywood politics to me. Evidently, Chris Rock won both battles, on and off the screen.

If you haven't guessed already, essentially, this movie is a feature-length film answer to the question many BET comics have asked, 'What if a black man were president?' In this case, though, the question is slightly remixed to be, 'How would a black man run for president?' Rock's answer is thoughtfully entertaining, (obviously) funny, and surprisingly, not too ghetto fabulous. Considering a film covering this topic could have gone in a thousand distasteful stereotypical directions, I won't complain too much about what I was given. They even explore the dynamics of party politics, in a minorities vs. the white people way that is insanely funny.

Rock's movie basically consists of taking a 'down on his luck' politician out of the hood, giving him a free opportunity at the most powerful position in the world and access to some of the most powerful people, and... watching what happens. This speck of a politician is Alderman Mays Gillam of Washington D.C., played by Chris Rock. Mays Gillam strives very hard to be a direct servant of the people, namely those in his poor primarily African-American city district. Since he's not the most respected of politicians, he isn't always so successful at that. Still, Gillam holds a genuine concern over political and social issues facing common Americans. Honestly, I don't have too much to say about the plot other than it was pretty much what I expected, i.e. a man of the people who strikes a chord with other Americans by speaking forthright about his liberal political sentiments. It's the amusing style in which this plot is delivered that really shines. For instance, look at how Mays responds when given the chance of lifetime by Lassiter, a stark dry political friend and soon, enemy.

LASSITER
We want you to run for President.

MAYS
(incredulous)
Of what?

LASSITER
The United States.

MAYS
Of what...

LASSITER
Of America.

MAYS
Which America?

LASSITER
North America.

Mays is asked only after the first Democratic presidential candidate dies unexpectedly. Lassiter and the rest of the Democratic candidate team have sought out the perfect candidate they think has the best chance of losing. Finding a loser today means putting them in a better position of winning the presidency in the future...by some strange logic. It's a Chris Rock party in this script so his comedic style and sly political antics are all over the place. The daydream/fantasy sequences are absolutely hilarious, and I must say that on the whole, the movie is worth seeing. Even the eye opening political messages that people need to hear are relayed in a way that isn't offensive (it's a comedy after all).

Honestly, the script starts fairly dry, I suspect for routine establishment purposes, but it heats up after page 10 or so. The laughs become consistent, and seeing them on screen, I'm sure will be even funnier considering body gestures and vocal tone can add a lot to or take a lot away from a punch line. With Nate Dogg singing a tune every now and then, Bernie Mac, Tracy Morgan, and Dylan Baker pulling down laughs right alongside Rock, I'm not too worried about the comedic quality of the end product once it hits theaters in March '03. The script is of the Chris Rock, 'this is what African-Americans do' comedic genre, so there's really not too much to say when you know what you're expecting. If you've seen his HBO stand ups, you're familiar with his jokes mostly honed to having fun with African-American and/or minority issues. Head of State is really no different, and since his stuff works, why change?

Directing a comedy is sure work, and how Rock will fare in his directorial debut is another reason to flock to the theater. If his work turns out to be a bit choppy or the timing is noticeably off, at least he has stellar comedians and the hope of another funny line to carry the audience through till the end. As far as first impressions go, nice work.”

- This has been a Miss Jones production.

Stay tuned...

That's all folks...

Jean-François Allaire (aka DeadPool)

Questions, comments, praise etc. Email me at deadpool@tnmc.org

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Jean-François Allaire is TNMC's first columnist. At only 24 years old he has become a respected entertainment journalist, with his columns appearing in Corona's Coming Attractions and Scr(i)pt magazine. He also writes a monthly column in Screenwriters Monthly entitled 'The Last Word.' Hailing from Montreal this young writer is determined to dig up all the details on the movies before they hit your local theater. If you're part of a movie production then you really need to be talking to him.