Chris Rock Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked"-where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out various accolades. This week, I'm profiling the work of Chris Rock-whose latest project "Spiral: From the Book of Saw" hits theaters on Friday.

Chris Rock's Filmography Ranked:

20.Grown Ups 2 (C)

19.Grown Ups (C+)

18.I Think I Love My Wife (C+)

17.Dr. Dolittle (C+)

16.Down to Earth (C+)

15.The Week Of (B-)

14.Beverly Hills Cop II (B)

13.CB4 (B)

12.Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (B)

11.Lethal Weapon 4 (B)

10.Osmosis Jones (B)

9.Head of State (B)

8.I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (B)

7.Death at a Funeral (2010) (B+)

6.The Longest Yard (2005) (B+)

5.New Jack City (A-)

4.Dogma (A)

3.Top Five (A)

2.Dolemite is My Name (A)

1.Pootie Tang (A)

Top Dog: Pootie Tang (2001)

My initial exposure to Pootie Tang came when a friend and I followed through with a long running joke to watch it about 13-14 years ago. Both of us came away genuinely shocked with how laugh-out-loud funny it was. That appreciation has only grown as I've gotten older and realized that in addition to being an incredible absurdist comedy on its own terms, it's also an inspired, spot-on parody of Blaxploitation movies. Long live the legend of musician/crime fighter/global role model Pootie Tang and to anyone who doubts his power, tread lightly because you might end up having to sine your pitty on the runny kine.     

Lowlight: Grown Ups 2 (2013)

Grown Ups 2 takes such a weird approach to everything from deploying jokes to cobbling together something that even somewhat resembles a plot that it develops this fascinating surrealist quality that almost makes it worth watching. However, the amount of embarrassingly cringey fart humor and phoned-in performances from every lead actor (Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Rock, David Spade, Salma Hayek) ultimately manages to overshadow its bizarrely endearing qualities.  

Most Underrated: Top Five (2014)

Rock's heartfelt semi-autobiographical reflection on fame, addiction and creating art is easily his most accomplished effort as a director as well as the funniest project he's been involved in since Pootie Tang. 

Most Overrated: N/A

Rock's filmography is so widely maligned that only a handful of the titles (Top Five, Pootie Tang, Dolemite is My Name, Dogma, New Jack City, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka) he's appeared in that could qualify for the overrated mantle and there isn't a single film from that bunch that comes anywhere close to being in that camp for me.

Most Educational Kids Film: Osmosis Jones (2001)

Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Up are great and all, but did they teach kids the value of good hygiene, medicine working in tandem with the body to stamp out illnesses and seeking medical attention when needed? Sure didn't, which is why Osmosis Jones is the most important and educational movie aimed at kids that's ever been released.