Dave Chappelle’s Block Party | Review

Chappelle busts out the lines and awesome hip hop line up brings out the rhymes.

You might as well return to your DVD downloads if you’re hoping to get your fix of Rick James spoofs or African American put me down skits as this affair has more of a Sunday family barbeque appeal than a comedy club offensive. Far from being a life-changing event, the three-day recorded experiment known as Dave Chappelle’s Block Party is part documentary, part concert merged with a pantry of one-liners. It’s a jolly good time because its demonstrates one good example of what happens when one signs a 50 million dollar television contract . Not only does the bubbly start to flow, but dreams for more than one become a reality.

Regaling in a certain kid in a candy store happiness, the maitre D or MC of this experiment is a joy to both watch and hear. With an unpredictable “on the go” standup comedy routine – all Michel Gondry has to do is keep the handheld cameras rolling, have the battery packs ready and keep the creative juices for the editing process where he plays with the timeline and the in-between songs play list. The starting grid commences in middle-class neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio and leads to a broke down, ghetto-like Brooklyn location – the best outtakes are when strangers become invited guests.

Even if the hip hop scene ain’t your thing, what is funnier than fun is when Chappelle is in the recruitment stages – handing out golden tickets to plenty of lucky brothers and sisters and 13 lucky white folks who are most likely to think that The Fugees is an island in the south pacific. Usually known for his visually playfulness and trickery, besides the opening megaphone play with the headlining concert acts, Gondry remains outside of his bubble. By design, there are some parts that feel like generic concert video look, but somewhere Gondry understands the experience, perhaps better than any film director – hence the nothing fancy approach produces a feel good result.

As part of a new flux of concert films with the soon out of the blocks Beastie Boys concert film and the current Neil Young release, this is perhaps the most laid back, socially conscious affair made without a morsel of pretension. Perhaps it’s the zeal of the least stressed out concert promoter in the history of concerts that cements the overall attitude of the film – one that cements itself as a concert going experience – where the words that you expect to utter out is “you had to be there” actually ring true.

Rating 3 stars