Dave Chappelle’s Block Party – Unrated
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C+ Film: B-
Michel Gondry is one of the most creative directors
around, as especially expressed in his work through Music Videos and TV
commercials. With an exceptional visual
sense, he has made a name for himself on that, with a narrative feature film or
two. Dave Chappelle is one of the
hottest comedians alive, showing much class and dignity by walking away from
$50 Million to continue his popular Chappelle’s Show TV series (reviewed
elsewhere on this site) because he found it becoming too exploitive and
demeaning. Fresh from all the
controversy, he teams up with Gondry for what amounts to Gondry’s first
part-concert film with Dave Chappelle’s Block Party.
The first half of the film involves his revisiting of his
hometown and inviting all his friends and neighbors from the past to a black
party without telling them who will be there.
Not that this will matter to many of the invitees because they either
will go blindly because they like Dave or be too old to know Jill Scott, Mos
Def, The Fugees, Kanye West or their importance in music and the arts
today. It is comical to see their
reactions and the interestingly awkward but charming moments throughout.
Most important is that the film is a triumph against the
very thing Comedy Central was trying to do to Chappelle: use a black man to
cause more racial strife and idiocy than do something innovative,
groundbreaking and even positive; in part by twisting the ground he was breaking
on the show to begin with. As we watch,
we see scenes like something out of 1970s cinema, especially documentary,
Rockumentary and counter-culture cinema:
people of all walks of life, races, socio-economic classes and other
cultural differences getting along just fine.
You’d think the 1980s never happened until you realize how the media had
racism re-mediated into it. Subtlety,
the film deconstructs worst-case-scenario expectations as no one fights each
other or even gets killed (!) as the brainwashing is slowly melted away.
Of course, there are those critics who would argue that
Chappelle is an “exotic” star figure, but the film clearly spells out that it
is not that simple for him, in part because of his down-to-earth approach and
also because he is a comedian with an honesty that more than proves (along with
the Comedy Central fiasco) that he never sold out. Thus, when the concert moments take place, they have a power and
impact like that of great Soul concert films like Soul To Soul and Wattstax. Those expecting a big screen version of
everything Chappelle has done before will love seeing something different in
his sudden wit at every turn, while Gondry continues to be one of the most
important forces in music film anywhere.
I hope they work together again soon and see what next different,
creative, interesting project they come up with next.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is slightly
dark and that has to do with the on-the-scene nature of the shoot, which also
varies throughout as Gondry follows Chappelle all over the place. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is decent, but
with all the Hip Hop and solid audio fidelity, a DTS option would have been
great. Extras include a piece on the
soundtrack, a making of featurette and second featurette about Ohio. The latter two further extend what Gondry
and Chappelle pull off here. Even if
you are not a Soul or Hip Hop fan, the film makes for very entertaining viewing.
- Nicholas Sheffo
