Not exactly brilliant, but semi-enjoyable comedy about a black wannabe comedian who dies too early and gets temporarily reincarnated in the body of a rich, middle-aged, balding, fat white guy. I have not seen the original versions of this story, and I haven't seen Chris Rock in anything else. (Sorry, his show is on WAY past my bedtime) but I had a few laughs. I guess the full force of Rock's usual material has been toned down, if the film has a PG-13 rating, but some of his observations about the stupidness of the racial divide in America were funny and did hit home. But, even though we see Rock as he sees himself throughout the movie, most of the humor from the actual story comes from knowing that other people see him as this balding, chubby, rich white guy who, once a coldhearted "asshole" who mindlessly closes down hospitals, now suddenly taken to spotting "homeboy" catchphrases and bumping and grinding to gangsta rap, and the moments (too few and far between) when we actually see this white guy, as the rest of the people in the film see him, doing all these things are the laugh-out-loud funniest in the film, even if they are cheap and even if we still hear Rock's voice despite the angels telling him that other people see AND hear the white guy in his own voice. (If we heard his voice, it would probably be even funnier.) I am surprised only one other reviewer mentioned Wanda Sykes' performance as the billionaire's maid who mutters obsceneties about her employer behind his back. Aside from Rock and the billionaire himself, she is the best thing about the film. Although she is a more foul-mouthed throwback to the Hattie McDaniel era (Is that intentional?), like McDaniel, she steals every scene she's in regardless of the stereotype. The rest of the cast, except for Chazz Palementari as the head honcho (aside from the Big G, of course) in Heaven, is embarrassing. The romance with Regina King is unneccasary and totally unbeleiveable. We see ROck in all their scenes, of course, but in the back of my head, I kept thinking, "Rich, old white guy, rich, old white guy." So there's something about his eyes; would she really look at him twice? And Rock is not good enough an actual ACTOR to help much. Jennifer Coolidge is embarrassing as the millionaire's trophy wife, but she can't be blamed with the inane stuff she has to do. Nobody else makes any impression. Still, it is amusing to see a Heaven that looks more like Studio 54 (complete with velvet rope that only admits "certain" people) than our usual perceptions of it, and again Rock has some good moments. At least, at less than 90 minutes, it doesn't overstay its welcome, which is more than can be said for a lot of "comedies" these days.
Review of Down to Earth
