Dave Chappelle’s Block Party
March 23, 2006
Amalia Nickel
This beautifully shot documentary with a soundtrack to die for is ample compensation for Dave Chappelle’s decision to leave his hit show in 2005. However, viewers who are looking for a two hour episode of Chappelle’s Show may be disappointed: there are no skits, no references to Rick James, and no portrayals of crackheads. Instead, Chappelle brings the human element of comedy to the streets, inviting the woman from the corner store, a high school marching band, and other unsuspecting strangers to the concert of a lifetime. The dialogue with these diverse bystanders is where much of the comedy shines, through the spontaneity of Chappelle’s comic genius and the responses it elicits.
A mixture of live performances, interviews with hip-hop legends, and one-on-one dialogue, Chappelle’s movie documents the throwing of an old school Block Party in Brooklyn. In the birthplace of hip-hop, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, The Roots, The Fugees, and other A-list hip-hop stars give the viewer glimpses into their music and their personalities. Live performances are cut with intimate moments of mutual friendship and admiration between the stars: Cody Chesnutt recites a prayer as the performers stand in a circle with heads bowed, Chappelle and Mos Def practice a slapstick comedy routine, and ?Uestlove reminisces about old times with his fellow artists. The movie highlights the fact that both hip-hop and comedy are entertaining forms of social critique. Perhaps this is the reason why the interactions between the two flow so organically in the movie.
Now you go...
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