A deleted scene from Netflix’s Bad Trip features a Chris Rock cameo. Directed by Kitao Sakurai, the hidden camera comedy centers on Chris and Bud (Eric Andre and Lil Rel Howery, respectively) who embark on a road trip from Florida to New York City for the sake of an old high school crush (played by Michaela Conlin). The duo’s journey is complicated by the fact that they have stolen a car from the dangerous Trina Malone (Tiffany Haddish).
Bad Trip takes the relatively novel approach of being a prank project that simultaneously plays out like a raunchy romcom. The film includes a meet-cute, a musical number, a declaration of love, and a dramatic final confrontation. All of this is accomplished where unsuspecting strangers are unwillingly roped into outlandish pranks. To pull off the balance, the creative team behind the movie had to make decisions about which moments to keep in the final cut and which had to be left on the cutting room floor. Already, it’s been revealed that an exorcism interlude was cut from Bad Trip because it clashed with the story’s overall tone. Another prank, involving actor and comedian Chris Rock, was discarded for a different reason.
Andre had asked Rock to appear in Bad Trip, an invitation that was accepted. But as the crew quickly realized, with Rock being as famous as he is, it was hard to find anyone that would readily buy into the whole premise. You can read Andre’s explanation for why the cameo didn’t work (via Comic Book) below.
“It was so frustrating because we only had Chris for one day. Unfortunately, when you’ve got someone as famous as Chris Rock, it’s almost impossible to find someone who doesn’t recognize them.”
In the deleted scene (above) Rock plays a cop that pulls Andre’s character over. The cop quickly becomes aggressive and violent, in a moment that fooled passersby but failed to engage the strangers directly involved in the prank because Rock was just too easy to spot. Still, as Andre’s comments indicate, it’s possible that Bad Trip could have incorporated the Spiral star into the plot in other ways if Rock were available for more than one day of filming. Haddish, another familiar face, is largely unrecognizable as Bud’s volatile sister. It’s likely a similar tactic would have been used to help disguise Rock.
Still, part of the film’s charm is that the cast is comprised of comedic talents that aren’t household names. It aids the believability of moments that are otherwise too ridiculous to accept. Even in the case of Conlin, who proved her pranking prowess in an audition, she arguably steals the spotlight in the film’s closing stretch. And ironically, given the success of Bad Trip, it’s probably the case that another set of actors would have to be chosen if a sequel ever happens.
Source: Comic Book