Chris Rock wears all the hats in the Friday-released Head of State. Rock co-writes, co-produces, directs and stars along with Bernie Mac and Tracy Morgan in this witty and fun slam on the current political situation.
Rock plays Mays Gilliam, a small-time neighborhood advocate in Washington D.C. When the democratic candidates for president and vice-president collide mid-air in their private jets (talking to each other on cell phones), the democratic party— including advisors Debra Lassiter (Lynn Whitfield) and Martin Geller (Dylan Baker)— choose Mays to be the token minority candidate for what they thought would be a certain loss.
However, halfway through Mays’ campaign of middle-of-the-road political drivel, Mays’ brother Mitch Gilliam (Mac) convinces Mays to speak the truth, something that stupefies and satisfies an American public complacent with business as usual.
Mays’ opponent is the archetypal caricature of a Republican, whose campaign slogan is “God Bless America, and no one else.” The Democratic campaign supplies Mays with a prostitute (Stephanie March) because as campaign manager Geller explains, “We got tired of getting caught up in sex scandals, so we commissioned our own team of superwhores.”
But Rock’s biting political comedy about governmental policies is the backbone of the film. Mays asked the crowd at a rally, “What kind of drug policy makes crack cheaper than asthma medicine?” to which the crowd responded, “That ain’t right.”
Rock also drags out the fears of the white suburban consensus to the light to make us laugh. In one scene, the Republican campaign has issued a last plea to California that if the people do not get out to vote, there would be a black man in office.
The next thing you see is a mob of whites flooding out of their middle-class homes in the suburbs running down the street screaming like a scene out of King Kong.
It’s funny because it’s true. It seems like only racist fears and stereotypes will get the apathetic populace to vote.
In the final presidential debate, Mays’ opponent said Mays was not qualified due to lack of political experience, to which Mays responded when it comes to making debt and enemies, he is not nearly as experienced as Washington.
That’s when all of the wit and intelligence of Rock goes right for the jugular — driving home the fact that what we may need in the White House is less business as usual and more experience in representing the common people.
