Synopsis:
This double feature presents two outrageous comedies starring celebrated comic talent Chris Rock: DOWN TO EARTH (2001) and HEAD OF STATE (2003).
Rock updates 1978's HEAVEN CAN WAIT with a...
This double feature presents two outrageous comedies starring celebrated comic talent Chris Rock: DOWN TO EARTH (2001) and HEAD OF STATE (2003).
Rock updates 1978's HEAVEN CAN WAIT with a decidedly modern flair in the romantic comedy DOWN TO EARTH. Lance Barton (Rock) is a struggling comedian whose dream is to perform at New York City's legendary Apollo Theater before it closes its doors forever. One night, while riding his bike, Lance is crushed by an enormous truck. Before he can come to terms with what has happened, he is strolling through Heaven, talking to the smooth Mr. King (Chazz Palminteri) and the bumbling Keyes (Eugene Levy), the angel who prematurely snatched Lance away from Earth. Mr. King agrees to make up for this mistake by returning Lance to New York, only instead of being a black bike messenger, Lance is now Mr. Wellington, a powerful white businessman who just so happens to be the enemy of Sontee (Regina King), the woman he has become infatuated with. Wooing Sontee with a new commitment to using Mr. Wellington's money philanthropically, Lance embarks on a mission to perform at the Apollo, even if he doesn't seem to fit the mold. But just when everything begins to fall into place, Mr. King returns to throw another glitch into Lance's plans.
Cowritten by Rock and Ali LeRoi, HEAD OF STATE follows an unassuming Washington DC alderman, Mays Gilliam (Rock), as he finds himself embroiled in a presidential election. Just weeks before the nation is about to elect a new president, one of the candidates is killed in a plane crash. Plotting a future run in 2008, Senator Bill Arnot (James Rebhorn) convinces his staff--Debra Lassiter (Lynn Whitfield) and Martin Geller (Dylan Baker)--to pick a replacement who has no chance of winning. But he gets more than he bargained for when he selects Mays. At first merely thankful to be in the spotlight, Mays plays the puppet, but eventually, he uses his power to actually say something meaningful. And when he selects his bail bondsman brother, Mitch (Bernie Mac), to be his running mate, everyone is shocked to discover that Mays is giving the people exactly what they want.
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