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Moriarty's DVD Shelf Review: DAVE CHAPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY
Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
You want to know if you should rent or buy this disc, right? I can give you one reason, and it comes less than a half-hour into the film, when Kanye West takes the stage. “Get ‘Em High” is absolutely fantastic. As good as West is, it’s a pretty remarkable performance by every single person onstage in equal measure. It’s a great group jam, everyone working together perfectly, laying down this one awesome groove... and then it just goes on... and on... under the next sequence, this one groove played low for a long time. The film cuts to a lot of great character stuff as the groove keeps repeating, revealing material shot three days before the concert footage that we’re watching. Nothing’s a throwaway in this film. Watching Dave trying to get people to come to his film is both touching and funny, and it’s the real meat of the movie. I think Chapelle did his best to be himself, to drop the act as much as possible, and in doing so, I think he manages to hit the same kind of honesty overdrive that marked the best work of Richard Pryor.
Yeah, that’s right. I’m dropping the “P” bomb. I think Richard Pryor is more than just the best black comic of all time. I think he’s the best stand-up comedian of any type, of any era. Hands down. No question. He’s the Ali of comedy. And don’t get me wrong. Dave Chapelle is definitely not Richard Pryor.
Not yet, anyway. I think CHAPELLE’S SHOW was very funny at times, but not really the work of genius that some people thought it was. I can see why the pressure of the sudden overwhelming financial responsibility might have scared the shit out of Chapelle. In backing off, in taking this side-step to do this film instead, I think he was scrambling to hold on to some sense of identity. Michel Gondry is hardly the first choice you would imagine shooting a Dave Chapelle concert film, but that stylistic push-pull of different influences makes it interesting. That’s what makes it work. Gondry’s a fucking good filmmaker, playful and compassionate and sweet-hearted through and through.
Compare this film to the recently-released Shyamalan book THE MAN WHO HEARD VOICES, and you’ll see the difference between mythmaking and confession. Chapelle seems absolutely compelled to be real while the camera’s rolling. He takes it as a challenge, and he’s more soulful than ever before. Have you ever heard Pryor’s material from after his life-changing trip to Africa?
Mos Def shows up right at the start, performing “Two Words” with West. Mos cracks me up. Mos is a badass rapper, but he’s also this larger than life character, with a presence that makes him the most interesting person on a movie set just as much as on a stage. You can’t take your eyes off him.
Cody Chesnutt shows up playing “King Of The Game.” A rehearsal session. Just Chesnutt by himself. Hip fucking choice. THE HEADPHONE MASTERPIECE is not inaccurately named. Chapelle plays “Round Midnight” on the piano. Really nice little version. Then he gets busted by his friend when he plays “Misty,” the only other song he knows. His friend talks about how Chapelle can really play the shit out of these two songs, but nothing else. He seems struck by how I’s oddly beautiful, how it trips him out to see someone give his whole life to one or two songs. Chapelle talks afterwards about Thelonius Monk and his gift for timing, then talks about the relationship between comedians and musicians, and how intermingled it is. Again... it’s naked. Anyone looking for answers about this guy need not theorize. Here he is, laying himself bare for his audience. It makes him really appealing. Mos and Dave jamming in rehearsal. Great. Funny as fuck, and a great exercise in playing to the band, literally.
When Kanye West comes back for “Jesus Walks”, he rips the roof off the place again. Seriously... removed of the hype of record sales or chart position or anything else... this is a phenomenal performance, using an entire marching band as a rhythm section. Electric is the best word for it. Dead Prez hardly has the same kind of media presence that Kanye West does, but they’re heard by the people who it speaks directly to. “You don’t hear them on the radio,” Chapelle says, “but you hear that in the barbershop all the time.” Their version of “Turn Off The Radio” feels like a genuine call to revolution, especially with Chapelle’s musings on the death of Biggie Smalls and his visit to the daycare center where Biggie grew up.
The way the film is built, things intentionally get bigger and bigger. The second song by Dead Prez is “It’s Bigger Than Hip Hop,” and if their first song is revolution, their second song is apocalypse, a world-class call-out to 99% of everyone working in music today. Scorching. Watch Chappelle’s face as he listens. He’s having as good a time as anyone in the audience. Not everything works. He calls a guy up onstage who looks like Mr. T, and the moment doesn’t really go where Chapelle wants it to.
But who cares? Erykah Badu shows up a few minutes later, and “Back In The Day” swings. I can see why the audience stood there, even while it was raining. These performers all feel energized by the collision of all of them in this one place at this particular moment. I don’t often use the word “magic,” but I think that’s a fair description for what you see happen in performance after performance, or in the backstage stuff with her. As Chappelle talks about seeing the reality of people, we see footage onstage of Badu’s wig getting ripped off onstage by the wind, and there’s something wonderful about the way she rips in the rest of the way, mid-song, turning it into a joyous thing. And when she duets later with Jill Scott... another moment of mutual admiriation flowering into something special for the audience.
I don’t want to just mention a few songs because of how much good stuff there is in the film, but the list of titles in the credits goes on for a good two minutes. Song after song after song, like “Boom” by the Roots or “Love OF My Life” by Badu and Common or “Definition” by Mos and Talib Kweli or Jill Scott’s “The Way”.
And, yes, the ending of the film, the big finish, is the reunion of The Fugees. And if that doesn’t excite you, then this isn’t the movie for you. If the notion of seeing everyone together again onstage together doesn’t get you going, then I would say you shouldn’t bother at all. I watched the film on my super-duper ultra-swanky Bose headphones, and it’s a genuine pleasure, beautifully mixed, rich and warm. I love how you hear Lauryn Hill before you see her, and when she takes the stage, she seems a little nervous actually, like she can barely believe she’s doing it. Once she settles in, though, and Pras takes the stage after her, and we see them relax with each other, it’s amazing. Pras talks about how much he loves watching Lauryn perform, and then we see her performance of “Killing Me Softly,” and she is indeed, as Pras calls her, “a beast,” just preposterously good. I have my issues with some of what Hill has said in the press, and I think she’s a sincere but misguided media figure, but as a singer... perfection. One of the great voices.
And thanks to Gondry, this appearance humanizes her away from the unfortunate quotes or the strident racial pronouncements. After her first big number, there’s some interview footage. She talks about growing up in the suburbs of New Jersey, and how she thought Pras and Wyclef were Jamaican when she first met them, and there’s obvious affection there, no matter what’s gone down between all of them as a band. In a flashback cutaway, Wyclef plays an impromptu version of “If I Was President” with the marching band backstage, playing for them, speaking to them. It’s a moment of quiet power, a strong choice. I like seeing them as people after seeing them perform, placing the emphasis there. Cody Chesnutt plays the movie out, another backstage moment, and Gondry ties it all together in these final moments, and it’s appealingly earnest. The last lines in the film are “Talking about love, talking about god-given love,” and that’s ultimately what the whole film is... one great big act of love. Chapelle may have bolted, but before he went, he offered up one great big love letter to the people who inspire him to continue, and one great big love letter to his audience.
The disc is really nice, but not overloaded with extras. Having not seen the film in the theater, I’m not sure what’s in the extra six minutes. Doesn’t matter in the end. You get a little more of a good thing... that should be enough. It’s a really nice transfer, visually and aurally, and in the end, this is a film I’m glad I own, one I’ll revisit many times, I’m sure. Especially when I get my sound system set up in my new house in the next few weeks.
I’ll be back a little later this morning with my review of Michael Mann’s MIAMI VICE, and I have to finish so I can get some sleep before a film later today that I’ve been waiting on for almost exactly four years now.
"Moriarty" out.
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I loved the Black White Supremist skit. :) His best work ever.
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But I've taken a bit of a break from his stuff so maybe I'll watch this. I got sick of the show after Comedy Central ran it into the ground like they do everything else, but this movie looks like something work checking out.
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Just wanted to say that when Mori says 'And, yes, the ending of the film, the big finish, is the reunion of The Fugees. And if that doesn
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No, the reunion of the fugees doesn't excite me. Other than that it sounded really fun and I really like Dave. So I'll avoid this one then.
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lauryn hill never said that shit. it's a myth.
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it was a completely different film. Ruben Approves !
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No, man, it was the Fugees... FUUUUGEEEEES.
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You are gonna watch the fountain? Man send that review as soon as possible!
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but i saw this in theatres last year and loved it. to say that this movie isn't for you if you dont get excited by the fugees reunion is kinda off the mark, considering i dont care for em one way or the other, but i saw the movie cause of one motherfucker, Dave Chappelle his'self, and even if you dont particularly care for hip-hop, you can still appreciate the good vibe this movie puts out...unless your racist, then you might be uncomfortable
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Can I hope for one? I mean, that would be cool. FINALLY some real cool news again. Whatever happened to that CASINO ROYALE script review/James Bond franchise expose? The entire plot to SPIDER-MAN 3 has been run on DarkHorizons already, but none here. Stop with ONLY having reviews and DVD stuff. Please.
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Biggest waste of time. Maybe 3 laughs total. Dave C. tried to fool people into thinking this was a comedy show. Look at its second week gross- it died completely from word of mouth. What a sham....
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I went into it fresh not knowing anything about it and was kinda dissapointed (It wasn't very funny, just people coming together for a concert). If live hip hop/rap isn't your bag you are best to avoid it.
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...ever seen "Wattstax"? That movie is much more along the lines of what "Block Party" was trying to be. How exactly did he try to fool people into thinking it was a comedy show? I heard him say multiple times to people that it would be "the biggest rap concert ever". Yeah, it wasn't a stand-up comedy gig, nor was it supposed to be, but I found it funny as shit nonetheless. "I knew the DC sniper was black, because he was taking weekends off..."
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I heard it was hillarious! Why havent they played it on TV LAND or something!? lol I heard there were skits very similiar to the Dave Chapelle show. Some political and racial humor that was very bold for those times, one would be shocked it was on tv! Funny one I heard about was about a blind black guy sitting in a theatre, and it was segregated with whites and blacks, and he was touching the heads of people in his section and he felt a white guys hair and just got up and moved to the other side. Then he felt the black guys head, and he got up again and sat on the white side. I dunno maybe I got the story wrong. lol Pryor was crazy man!! I swear I wonder if the Chapelle show's format was inspired by it!
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It says DAVE CHAPPELLE is big as possible and has a giant colored DAVE CHAPPELLE crouching on 3/4 of the poster. THats how they duped viewers into thinking it was a Dave C. comedy show. Every commercial had Dave C making jokes - its a fraud.
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than have me rent this movie. Because I'm white. Get it?
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That calls him on his piano playing is none other than The Roots' fantastic drummer (and de facto spokesperson), Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson.
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I loved this whole movie. I can see non-hip hop fans not enjoying the movie since it's a hip hop concert movie. And I didn't find the trailers misleading at all.
Oh...and that Dead Prez song is just called "Hip Hop" (Chappelle Show fans might recognize it as the music Dave walks out on stage with). -
i don't want to see a comedian hosting a music show.
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LOL! After The Roots perfom "Boom" in this movie, Dave grabs the mike and blurts out this line. Cracks me up every time. Anyhoo, I saw this movie on opening day, bought the soundtrack a week later, and bought the DVD on opening week. It gets better every time I watch it. The "extra" stuff that wasn't in the film, by the way, is more detailed footage of the old couple who's "rebuilding" their house (Dave eventually refers to that crib as the perfect scouting location for a crackhouse!) and extended footage of many of the musical performances - except for the Fugees.
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...and why? Because Dave Chappelle is a hell of a lot easier to sell to the common movie-going market than a bunch of rappers a lot of people have never heard of. What were the commercials supposed to be pushing? The Central State University Marching Band of Ohio? C'mon. I do see Dave on that poster, but I also see a whole lot of rappers and musicians right behind him, and they are the REAL stars of this flick. Dave was the selling point, thus his prominence in the advertising campaign. It's true that it was marketed as a Dave Chappelle joint, but if people didn't read the fine print and see that there was a whole hell of a lot more to it than that, well, that's their own fault.
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and I'm not into the Fugees. So I have to triple the disagreement to that particular statement. I am a fan of most of the groups in the movie (especially the Roots and Eryka Badu) but I know several people who aren't into any of them who also loved the movie. Judging by every opinion I have ever heard on the movie, I think basically the rule is if your screen name is Superneal, you will not like this movie, but if your name is not Superneal and you live on the planet earth, there is a good chance you will like it. A couple things: 1. I'm impressed that Moriarty knows who Cody Chestnutt is. That makes up for him not knowing who ?uestlove is. Having seen Chestnutt live a couple times I'm convinced that he may be a little crazy and that might be what's kept him from putting out a second album, but I can't wait for when he does. I think it will be great. 2. Did anyone else watch the making of documentary, and if so, do you think Kanye is kidding when he muses that Biggie "was pretty good" as if he never thought about it before and is the first one to notice? I guess either way it's hilarious but if he was joking he has a great deadpan delivery on that one. 3. For those above who are being scared off by Kanye, this was before he was so popular so he's actually the first act. There's no one artist who dominates the movie other than Dave Chappelle. I'm not really into his music but I was fine. And if you're only calling him a douche because of his statements in the media, don't worry. He does not get a chance to point out common sense truths about racism and homophobia. So you won't have to feel uncomfortable. Mike Meyers probably approves this movie.
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...were a mixture of sarcasm, dry humor, and overflow from his truly enormous ego. This WAS before Kanye was the superceleb he is now, but he's still an arrogant prick. Great producer and a decent rapper, but an arrogant prick nonetheless. Oh yeah - where the hell was Rahzel? He's a HUGE part of the Roots, and he was nowhere to be seen.
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cut my cock off than watch this piece...
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thanks for proving my point.... And yes the movie still blows
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He did alright, but if I had to make a list I would say his segment was the weakest performance of the concert. But I have to agree, he is an excellent producer. And Lauryn's song made me cry too, Pras.
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...but don't blame Dave or his marketing people just because you're too much of a dumbfuck to read what a movie's about before you lay down your ten bucks to see it. Perhaps you'd be happier cutting flatline's dick off instead. At least there's nothing misleading about that.
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two P's...it's on the freakin' box at the top of your article...
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Mr. M, where is the Beerfest report you promised like 6 months ago? The movie comes out next month dude. Get on it. Don't waste you time with this block party crap.
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He almost managed to ruin this mostly wonderful movie with his ridiculous performance .. Luckily, Jill Scoot, Badu, the Roots and the others kept the groove flowing ... And anyone who went to see this not knowing is was going to be a rap concert is, simply, a moron .. clearly, on the poster behind Dave, are all the performers ...
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He wasn't on the last two albums, if I recall correctly. And the last time I saw the Roots live a few years ago he didn't perform with them and wasn't even mentioned. He's looong gone.
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That and the freaks/hippies in the Broken Angel house. I thought Sonny Bono was dead, weird...
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I already knew this was a great movie. I saw it in theaters. BUT WHERE'S THE FOUNTAIN REVIEW? HURRY UP!
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Fuck man, good thing Aronofsky is laying low with this thing, otherwise I think I'd go insane waiting for it! It's already my most anticipated movie of the summer...
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and Hustle and Flow back to back.
I love all kinds of music. Thank goodness that someone like D. Chappelle has the balls to give screen time to a (young PE type act like) Dead Prez so that someone like me can be exposed to it and realize that there are still a few acts trying to empower their community and not just pick the bones, so to speak.
Anyway it was an interesting double feature and I am better off for having taken it all in. -
I didn't know any of the performers and I was expecting more of a comedy show but I was no tdisappointed. The bands were great and Chapelle was funny as hell. Dead Prez was the standout of the film for me and the fact that you CAN'T hear them on the radio is what's wrong with the world today.
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In fact, I totally regret spending my cash to see it in the theater. It was excruciatingly dull. I saw this at the Crenshaw-Baldwin Hills Magic Johnson Theaters in Los Angeles because I wanted to see it with a receptive audience. Many people walked out. I fell asleep. My friends both left, but I wanted to see the reunited Fugees. I love Chappelle's show, but this is one of (if not THE) most disapppointing movies I have ever seen in my entire life. I wouldn't even recommend renting it, but at least you won't be out so much cash.
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