Will it change anyone’s views on race in America? I doubt it. But it sure as hell is funny.
Tools:
Recommend review to a friend »
Comedy. It´s ultimately subjective for enjoyment, and is dependent on timing and intangibles like the makeup of the audience. What one person might find hilarious another might find complete and utter drivel. I love "Super Troopers" but John found it pointless and stupid. I loved "Team America" but Chris found it tepid. Hmm… I´m finding a trend here. But on the contrary I´m told how absolutely hysterical "Napoleon Dynamite" is, yet I think I sat through its two-hour run time without cracking so much as a smile.
Comedy is also heavily reliant on context. What might be funny on the stage might not translate to the television screen. Fortunately Dave Chappelle knows how to mix standup humor with sketch comedy and has put together a wonderfully funny television program.
The structure is very familiar to comedy traditionalists who remember the works of Flip Wilson or Johnny Carson´s skits on "The Tonight Show." "Chappelle´s Show" takes its humor in a scattershot manner, throwing gags up at a wall and seeing what sticks. Dave does impersonations of everyone from rapper "Lil´ John" to golf superstar Tiger Woods. Chappelle puts together parodies of advertisements like Sam Adams Beer (Samuel Jackson Beer). In fact some of Dave´s most memorable scenes come from his superstar parodies. Seriously, most people associate the show with the phrase "I´m Rick James, Bitch."
But the funniest pieces, in my estimation, are the original skits that address racial issues. The writing crew postulates on theories like "White People Can´t Dance" or that there needs to be a draft to clarify what race popular entertainers of mixed races like Lenny Kravitz or Tiger Woods are. "Chappelle´s Show," with tongue planted firmly in cheek, looks at things like the "N-word," racial epitaphs, and our perceptions of race. By exposing these offensive concepts Chappelle and his crew force us to look at something that is negative in a different light. Will it change anyone´s views on race in America? I doubt it. But it sure as hell is funny.
The second season of "Chappelle´s Show" was really bolstered by the sales of the first season on DVD. The ratings were decent but toward the end of the first and thanks to the compiled box sets the show became a cultural phenomenon. The second season contains 13 episodes that run anywhere from 16 to 22 minutes. I don´t know that the second season would have been possible if the DVD set didn´t do well.
In the second season Tyrone the Crack Addict is back, as is Rick James and the "Robot." I prefer the episodes where the gags are fast and furious rather than the longer, more storied installments. The programs are structured for a laugh every few seconds, but doesn´t take the audience´s erratic tastes into account. That´s the problem with pre-recorded sketches, they can´t account for the audience´s reactions in the pacing of the show.
Of course one of the most notorious episodes in the history of the show, hosted by the one and only Wayne Brady is included in this second season. If you think you know Wayne Brady, you need to see this episode.
As for the tag of "uncensored," that´s only partially true. The language is unbleeped, and full of profanity. Personally I always thought the bleeping was the funniest part of the show, what they tried to get away with on television. On DVD, to my sensibilities, it seems excessively profane. Others will find the swearing hilarious. There are a few exposed breasts that are blurred out, so it´s not completely uncensored.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]14263[/release]