By John Corrado
Chris Rock delivers his first directorial effort in over a decade (since 2014’s Top Five), with the uneven but fairly entertaining Hollywood satire Misty Green.
Rosalind Eleazar is the best thing about Rock’s latest as writer and director, starring in the film as the titular Misty Green. Misty is a washed up actress who won an Emmy but is now struggling to get roles, partially due to her reputation for doing drugs and being hard to work with on set. The film unfolds over a week as she is about to lose her Los Angeles apartment, while dealing with a number of personal issues.
She has a fortuitous run-in with Jordan (played by Rock, giving himself several monologues spelling out the film’s themes), a director from her past who is working on a remake of Dreamgirls, starring a non-singer. Misty wants the part. But she also needs to look out for her brother Jay (Daniel Kaluuya), who has mental health challenges and has just been released from a facility.
Rock’s screenplay is touching on a lot of themes, from the trifecta of ageism, sexism, and racism in the film industry, to mental health struggles and police racial profiling. It doesn’t always work, and feels like it doesn’t do quite as much with all of its themes as it could have. For example, while Kaluuya is very good in the role of Jay, his character is unevenly written (at one point, he is referred to as having schizophrenia, while later on Misty says he’s bipolar, which seems more fitting).
Rock’s direction can struggle to find the right tone between comedy and something more serious. But Misty Green is still fairly enjoyable overall, mainly thanks to the solid lead performance from Eleazar. She brings a lot to the role, including a few stirring song performances. She’s playing someone who makes frustrating choices, but Eleazar sells them, and makes them feel mostly believable for this character. The cast is rounded out by some fun supporting turns, including Topher Grace as her agent, Anna Kendrick as the best friend, and Adam Driver as a bad influence from her past.
The Joy of Movies 