Her co-star and friend of nearly two decades, Chris Rock, laughs appreciatively. He jokes that as the father of daughters Zahra, 12, and Lola, 10, he's become an expert assembler of complex toys, as well as a human repository of instruction-manual details. "Suddenly I'm a handyman," he laments with a laugh.
USA WEEKEND caught up with the two stars to talk about what makes the season special. Rock lives in suburban New Jersey with his wife and kids. Dawson, who is single, grew up in New York City but is now based in Los Angeles. Yet their holiday routines are sweetly similar.
"The tree will go up right after Thanksgiving. We go pick it out. The first one will be too big. You have to get another one that can fit into the house," Rock says. "Decorate the tree, (and) before you know, it's Christmas."
For Dawson, this year will revive a special family tradition. "My grandmother (since passed) had this fake tree, and you had these branches you had to attach. Every year, it felt like more and more branches were missing.... For the first time this year, we're bringing it to L.A. We're going to bring back the sparse, balding Christmas tree. I'm a big fan of A Charlie Brown Christmas, so I'm really excited."
One thing Dawson misses by being in SoCal is the change of seasons. "Growing up in New York, you got these white Christmases. (The snow) used to be up to the second floor when I was a kid, and you had to trudge to school. I miss that type of Christmas. The biggest tradition we had was going sledding in Central Park."
She is fired up about another family tradition: food. And more and more food. So much food that elastic waistbands are a must.
"Usually a shoulder of pork, huge piece of skin on it. It takes hours to cook. It's delicious. It's super-family tradition. We eat as we're cooking. We pile our plates obnoxiously high. Everyone sits down and unbuckles their pants and continues eating," she says. "It's an eating tradition. ... We'll do a turkey too."
Rock is equally specific about his culinary choices come Christmas: "I got nothing that good. Sweet potato pie. It shows up. That's pretty much my Christmas. I got everything else. I open up gifts from my kids. More pajamas. But I got the pie."
Speaking of presents, how does someone as wealthy and successful as Rock avoid spoiling his daughters? By not showering them with stuff, he says. "They get three things they want and a couple of things they need. That's pretty much how it goes. They don't seem to complain."
'Top Five' holiday movies and TV shows
Chris Rock and Rosario Dawson are still suckers for classic holiday films and TV specials. They even get a little choked up when talking about their favorites.
Dawson: "A Charlie Brown Christmas. A Christmas Story. And Rent."
Rock: "Um, I like Bill Murray's Scrooged. It's really good and underrated. Bad Santa,just genius. A Charlie Brown Christmas holds up."
Rock is solid in new film
In the comedy Top Five, opening Dec. 5, Chris Rock portrays a washed-up, alcoholic comedian best-known for playing a popular movie character called Hammy the Bear. He gets out of rehab, tries to go serious and learns that his fame has a solid sell-by date.
Rock also wrote and directed Top Five, which screened at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival to giddy reviews, leaving him proud, satisfied — and more than a little stunned. "This is my best movie. I hope this is a new plateau," he says.
"This movie reminds me of stand-up. I was a stand-up (comic) for 15 years before I broke. One day, something clicked. I've done 20 to 30 movies. I feel like something clicked. Let's see if now I can have a run movie-wise the way I did with stand-up. This is the kind of movie I want to make."
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