GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

brooksduane54 In the theatrical film "Head of State," Chris Rock is the comedy drawing card, earning plenty of laughs in his role as an alderman running a pre-arranged campaign for President. As co-writer, he helps provide quite a lot of funny times for himself and his comedic cohort, Bernie Mac. As director, he orchestrates the comedic goings-on with a sure and knowing hand, always making sure the proceedings never get too out-there. Yet there is another reason to savor "Head of State," a second factor in making said picture memorable. And that's Robin Givens's portrayal of Rock's ex. As Kim, she employs her high-toned beauty, her poised sexiness, and her unstoppable energy to create a portrait of a greedy, grasping, entirely opportunistic witch whom it is an absolute pleasure to be against. Thanks to her good looks and appeal, she is a bad girl whom it is a fervent delight to see being bad. Her smooth charm and unquenchable hotness nicely balance Rock's "homeboy" funniness and streetwise dynamism. She makes a really and truly worthy adversary for the star. It has been reliably reported that there was initial resistance to casting her in her first cinematic triumph "Boomerang" because there was fear that audiences would boycott said film out of dislike for "The Most Hated Woman in America." Robin Givens's performance in "Head of State" clearly shows that she is the kind of actress who deserves in demand from now until the end of time.

guyfromjerzee Now, it's no doubt that Chris Rock is one of our most talented and funniest comedians. But stand-up comedy and motion pictures are two totally different realms. In stand-up, you purposely break the fourth wall, whereas in movies you do whatever you can not to break that wall, making the audience forget they're watching a movie and that they're really in this "world." Rock didn't only co-write the script, but he also directed. Mel Brooks, he is not. His amateurish direction is quite obvious in his use of extreme close-ups of actors mugging into the camera. Any good comedy director knows that comedy is best played in wide shots or in as few shots as possible. Otherwise, it's like you're shoving the punchline in the audience's face.One problem with Rock and his selection of movies (for the most part) is that his humor becomes marred by PG-13 ratings. Let's face it, he's a naturally vulgar comedian and we love him for that. We loved Eddie Murphy for being that way, back in his "Raw" and "Beverly Hills Cop" days. Just like how we're forced to see Murphy in corny, watered-down, PC flicks like "The Haunted Mansion" and "Showtime," we're forced to see Rock in flicks like "Down to Earth" (also written by him) and "Head of State." However, one movie where he was funny was "Nurse Betty," an R-rated film. Unfortunately, he was only given a supporting role.Back to Rock as a writer/director, he may know a lot about comedy, but he knows little about story structure and how to find the balance between comedy and drama. There are way too moments where the movie takes serious turns that dampen the film's broad comic tone (as was the problem, in bigger doses, with "Down to Earth"). But being that we're now in a sugar-coated, PC society, we can't even make a comedy without tacking on bundles of unnecessary sentiment.Now, onto the main problem with the film. The filmmakers took a brilliant premise that could've been transformed into a razor-sharp satire, and instead settled for a dull, predictable farce. If you were Mr. Magoo, you can see the punchlines for at least 80 percent of the gags coming a mile away. There's even a debate scene where Rock uses the Pee Wee Herman "I know you are, but what am I" line. High brow comedy, huh? The gag that I feared, in watching the film's many trailers and TV spots, is probably one of the funnier scenes--which is of course not saying a whole lot. I'm talking about the White House party scene that involves uptight white people dancing and singing along to Nelly's "Hot in Here." The jokes that do poke fun at today's political climate are treated with way too heavy of a hand. Just watch the gag where women are trained to be whores for the president, like they were doing basic training for the army. A joke that probably sounds funny on paper, but on screen it just comes off as silly.On a minor note, Bernie Mac plays a supporting role, and his talents are also completely wasted. Mac is another talented comedian who hasn't yet gotten the break he deserved in the movies. So far, he's starred in two consecutive duds: "Mr. 3000" and "Guess Who." If you purchase or rent the DVD for "Head of State," I must admit that Rock's commentary is pretty amusing. But that's the only positive thing I can say.

rnesto_87 White people acting like idiots as soon as Chris Rock throws on a little Nelly at a fundraiser, behaving like wiggers, having large glasses and so on.Black people acting like fools basically all the time, being stereotypical village idiots with no wits at all.stereotypes that really does not help to sooth racial tension in any way, quite the contrary actually.I gave it a three, if it wasn't for Bernie Mac I would have given it a one.Awful!

sillylizard Intelligent. Chris Rock has balls and he mixes old-school comedy (think SNL in the 80s) and current American politics. ie. both the republican and democrats are corrupt and greedy, with no one but themselves at interest when it comes to "The United States of America." But, as Mr. Rock points out in the commentary, this film is a comedy, and not intended to be a political commentary.So why then did so few people think it was funny? Perhaps b/c they can't see the humour in their own country...how hysterical that the most God-blessed, powerful, and wealthy country in the world can be falling apart so badly. And that the government in election years must pretend to care about its citizens, when obviously they only care about the people who are handing them cheques.Delightfully irreverent, Chris Rock steps up to the plate.