Everyone in the movie sees Wellington, but those of us in the audience see Chris Rock. But the gag ultimately pays off in several ways. We are allowed to see Wellington in scenes where he tells jokes and raps words that a black man could get away with but a white man uses at his peril in mixed company. Other scenes allow Rock to do what he does best, both as a standup comic and in a scene where he meets Wellington's opponents and disarms them with social criticism that sounds like self-deprecating humor, as if the old man were developing a corporate conscience. Spike Lee might not agree, but cynical Hollywood almost always tries to sell the fantasy.
Most audiences are happy to buy it.
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