I can’t quit Chris Rock. He’s been a staple of my life since I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, when I was still far too young to know what Blaxploitation was and why its tropes were making me laugh so hard. Rock was my “high school SNL” representative, the misfit who brought an unapologetically Black tone to the show with characters like Nat X. He became my Goat standup comedian during an epic 90s run that yielded Bigger & Blacker and Bring the Pain, most of which I can still recite by heart.
And yet: I’m not so delusional to think Rock can really act. Apart from his work in 2 Days in New York, where he actually relaxes for his director-costar Julie Delpy, Rock on film is stilted, uncomfortable – never more or less than his genuine self. But as it happens there’s at least one film where the painful awkwardness serves him well.
