Movie Review Black Los Angeles

BlackNLA Movie Reviews

*****THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*****

by Edwardo Jackson

BIASES: 30 (yikes!) year old black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare

DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY (R)

MOVIE BIASES: Dave ain't crazy and I'm super-duper pre-sold.

MAJOR PLAYERS: Dave Chappelle (Half-Baked) and director Michel Gondry
(Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

"I'm rich, biotch!" - Dave's clarion call for entertainment that has run at the end of his record-breaking Comedy Central show - is the first thing you hear in this film. We've all read about Chappelle's career wig-out after landing his much ballyhooed $50 million deal to continue his provocative, boundary pushing sketch comedy show. Amid Chappelle's image rehabilitation tour that not-so-coincidentally comes just before this film's opening, we are reminded - some of us, informed - that behind Mr. "I'm Rick James, Bitch!" there is a man first, a man who cares about people, life, and humanity. Whereas others' pump blood, Chappelle's heart just happens to produce comedy.

In September 2004, Dave Chappelle wants to share with the world some of the excesses of his recently signed contract. His method? A huge, daylong concert block party right in the heart of Bedford-Stuyesvant, Brooklyn, NY. As the movie goes along, Chappelle acts as host of the concert and the movie, recruiter, promoter, and hype man - all at the same time. Intercut with concert footage of the day of the party, this film is a hybrid documentary, showing us the preparation and run up to the big event, Dave's off-the-cuff rehearsal process, as well as the history and people populating the city block his party takes over. "Party" lives up to its name, featuring performances from hip hop/R&B heavyweights Kanye West, Common, Dead Prez, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Mos Def, the Roots, the Fugees, and an on-the-come-up John Legend (forgive me if I left anyone out - it's a star-studded lineup). Whether he's handing out "magic" party tickets to unsuspecting citizens of his racially mixed home base of Yellow Springs, Ohio or interviewing daycare-aged children, Chappelle is determined to share the wealth and connect with people from all walks of life in the party of HIS lifetime.

"Block Party" is the ultimate concert film and instrument of personal expression. To dismiss it as simply a comedy film or even a mere concert film is to miss the natural sense of social consciousness, political activism, and civic responsibility that's engrained in Chappelle's DNA.

If it sounds like a lot for a film it is - Dave covers a LOT of ground. Dave eloquently, succinctly breaks down the differences between conscious and radio-friendly rap. Dave, as is his M.O., skewers all races with his socially-tinged humor ("How many white people does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"). Dave, with the help of Michel Gondry's direction and Ellen Kuras' omnipresent camera, deflates the aloof, untouchable image of music superstars (Jill Scott names the pimple on her nose "Herbert"). Dave singlehandedly explodes the (white media hyped) myths behind rap concert violence by staging this positive rap extravaganza incident-free. And if that weren't enough, Dave, through the strength of his curiosity and open nature, reaches out to young and old ("Old people [freakin'] love me"), black and white alike (says a middle-aged, white Yellow Springs shopkeeper upon receiving a magic ticket: "I don't know what to bring to a rap partyï¿½I knew I should've bought a thong.").

More than just a concert film, "Party" draws you into the spirit of Dave Chappelle. When he invites the entire Central State University marching band, you are just as thrilled as he is in watching the kids' reactions. Chappelle's excitement in rehearsals with rap superstars is just as palpable as yours. With a chimney pipe cleaner body and playfully nasal delivery that's its own naturally comedic sound
effect, Chappelle puts everyone at ease, even while practicing his incendiary, thought-provoking brand of racial humor. It's that comfortably uncomfortable symbiosis of relaxed aggression, that oxymoronic nature that exists in us all that, through the skill of his comedic chops, makes him so popular. Somehow by embracing his generous, inquisitive nature, Chappelle has become O-: he is comedy's universal donor. Dave is a human being first - who happens to be black
- and genuinely cares about other human beings, relating to us all through laughter.

Bursting with the pure exuberance of an artist who's made it and is untainted by the politicization of Hollywood, "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" is so much more, but exactly just what its title proclaims it to be. You don't have to love hip hop to love this movie (as our white, thong-less shopkeeper finds out) - you have to love life, love people. Running around with nothing more than a bullhorn, his "vision," and his actualized id in the form of a party to guide him, Dave Chappelle is right on track. When confronted about using (his ubiquitous) profanity on film, Chappelle says, "You can say anything. It's a movie." Lucky for us, Dave is crazy enough to say all the right things.

@@@@ REELS
(FOUR REELS)
An urban legend/instant classic.

Like what you read? Agree/disagree with The Reel Deal? Think he's talkin' out his...HUSH YO' MOUF! (I'm only talkin' about The Reel Deal!) Email him at ReelReviewz@aol.com!

Edwardo Jackson is the author of the novels EVER AFTER and NEVA HAFTA, (Villard/Random House), a writer for UrbanFilmPremiere.com, and an LA-based screenwriter. Visit his website at www.edwardojackson.com




			BlackNLA Movie Reviews ***THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*** by Edwardo Jackson BIASES: 30 (yikes!) year old black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY (R) MOVIE BIASES: Dave ain't crazy and I'm super-duper pre-sold. MAJOR PLAYERS: Dave Chappelle (Half-Baked) and director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) "I'm rich, biotch!" - Dave's clarion call for entertainment that has run at the end of his record-breaking Comedy Central show - is the first thing you hear in this film. We've all read about Chappelle's career wig-out after landing his much ballyhooed $50 million deal to continue his provocative, boundary pushing sketch comedy show. Amid Chappelle's image rehabilitation tour that not-so-coincidentally comes just before this film's opening, we are reminded - some of us, informed - that behind Mr. "I'm Rick James, Bitch!" there is a man first, a man who cares about people, life, and humanity. Whereas others' pump blood, Chappelle's heart just happens to produce comedy. In September 2004, Dave Chappelle wants to share with the world some of the excesses of his recently signed contract. His method? A huge, daylong concert block party right in the heart of Bedford-Stuyesvant, Brooklyn, NY. As the movie goes along, Chappelle acts as host of the concert and the movie, recruiter, promoter, and hype man - all at the same time. Intercut with concert footage of the day of the party, this film is a hybrid documentary, showing us the preparation and run up to the big event, Dave's off-the-cuff rehearsal process, as well as the history and people populating the city block his party takes over. "Party" lives up to its name, featuring performances from hip hop/R&B heavyweights Kanye West, Common, Dead Prez, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Mos Def, the Roots, the Fugees, and an on-the-come-up John Legend (forgive me if I left anyone out - it's a star-studded lineup). Whether he's handing out "magic" party tickets to unsuspecting citizens of his racially mixed home base of Yellow Springs, Ohio or interviewing daycare-aged children, Chappelle is determined to share the wealth and connect with people from all walks of life in the party of HIS lifetime. "Block Party" is the ultimate concert film and instrument of personal expression. To dismiss it as simply a comedy film or even a mere concert film is to miss the natural sense of social consciousness, political activism, and civic responsibility that's engrained in Chappelle's DNA. If it sounds like a lot for a film it is - Dave covers a LOT of ground. Dave eloquently, succinctly breaks down the differences between conscious and radio-friendly rap. Dave, as is his M.O., skewers all races with his socially-tinged humor ("How many white people does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"). Dave, with the help of Michel Gondry's direction and Ellen Kuras' omnipresent camera, deflates the aloof, untouchable image of music superstars (Jill Scott names the pimple on her nose "Herbert"). Dave singlehandedly explodes the (white media hyped) myths behind rap concert violence by staging this positive rap extravaganza incident-free. And if that weren't enough, Dave, through the strength of his curiosity and open nature, reaches out to young and old ("Old people [freakin'] love me"), black and white alike (says a middle-aged, white Yellow Springs shopkeeper upon receiving a magic ticket: "I don't know what to bring to a rap partyï¿½I knew I should've bought a thong."). More than just a concert film, "Party" draws you into the spirit of Dave Chappelle. When he invites the entire Central State University marching band, you are just as thrilled as he is in watching the kids' reactions. Chappelle's excitement in rehearsals with rap superstars is just as palpable as yours. With a chimney pipe cleaner body and playfully nasal delivery that's its own naturally comedic sound effect, Chappelle puts everyone at ease, even while practicing his incendiary, thought-provoking brand of racial humor. It's that comfortably uncomfortable symbiosis of relaxed aggression, that oxymoronic nature that exists in us all that, through the skill of his comedic chops, makes him so popular. Somehow by embracing his generous, inquisitive nature, Chappelle has become O-: he is comedy's universal donor. Dave is a human being first - who happens to be black - and genuinely cares about other human beings, relating to us all through laughter. Bursting with the pure exuberance of an artist who's made it and is untainted by the politicization of Hollywood, "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" is so much more, but exactly just what its title proclaims it to be. You don't have to love hip hop to love this movie (as our white, thong-less shopkeeper finds out) - you have to love life, love people. Running around with nothing more than a bullhorn, his "vision," and his actualized id in the form of a party to guide him, Dave Chappelle is right on track. When confronted about using (his ubiquitous) profanity on film, Chappelle says, "You can say anything. It's a movie." Lucky for us, Dave is crazy enough to say all the right things. @@@@ REELS (FOUR REELS) An urban legend/instant classic. Like what you read? Agree/disagree with The Reel Deal? Think he's talkin' out his...HUSH YO' MOUF! (I'm only talkin' about The Reel Deal!) Email him at ReelReviewz@aol.com! Edwardo Jackson is the author of the novels EVER AFTER and NEVA HAFTA, (Villard/Random House), a writer for UrbanFilmPremiere.com, and an LA-based screenwriter. Visit his website at www.edwardojackson.com Â© 2004, Edwardo Jackson