2008 Woodie Awards
Welcome to Dave Chappelleâ?TMs Block Party
A review of Dave Chappelle's new film that features Talib Kweli, Mos Def and even the Fugees
By: Alex Perlin
Issue date: 3/10/06 Section: The Arts
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When I got back from seeing Block Party, the first question everyone asked me was, â?oeWas it really funny?â?? This is quite frankly the wrong question. I still have not figured out what the right question is, but this movie is not about being funny, it is about Chappelle using his fame and money for a great event, it is about political hip-hop, it is about Brooklyn, it is about what movies can do, it is just not about being funny. That is not to say this movie lacks humor. I laughed throughout the film, but these laughs were very different than what one would find in Half Baked 2.
Perhaps it will make more sense if I describe what exactly Dave Chappelleâ?TMs Block Party consists of. Chappelle decides that he wants to have a giant block party in Brooklyn, and that he wants to invite most of todayâ?TMs popular political hip-hop artists to perform as well as people from all over to watch. The movie starts with Chappelle walking around Ohio, giving people his version of Wonkaâ?TMs golden ticket, to give them a ride to Brooklyn and a room for the night while there. He invites everyone he knows, from the woman at the convenience store to two college kids just passing through, to the Central State University marching band.
Then, we see Chappelle in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, talking to the people who live and work around where the concert will be held. When conversing with these people, we get a nice glimpse of Bed-Sty, one that, as Chappelle says, â?oeIn some parts looks like when The Cosby Show comes back from commercial, and in some parts like when Good Times comes back from commercial.â?? One of the people Chappelle talks to is the woman in charge of the school that the Notorious B.I.G. used to attend, and the message of the movie is clear: even though this is an area filled with its share of problems, you never know what the children may become.
Then, the concert begins, and the rest of the movie is an interplay between the concert and then Chappelle and the artists talking about Brooklyn, hip-hop, and life. The list of performers is astounding, featuring Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, The Roots, Kanye West, Dead Prez, and The Fugees. Thatâ?TMs right, the Fugees. It is worth seeing this movie simply to see them back together again, and to see Lauryn Hill belt out â?oeKilling Me Softlyâ?? with as much soul as she puts into â?oeJoyful, Joyfulâ?? at the end of Sister Act Two: Back in the Habit. The only problem with the performances is that we only see a few songs per artist, and the movie leaves you with a longing to make your own block party to have them all there. Also, the side of Chappelle we see is a very personal and intimate one that makes you love him by the end of the movie, much more than before. Whether he is doing crappy battle-rapping on stage, telling jokes with Mos Def, or doing poetry on stage, there is a human side to the movie that is touching. There is such honesty to this movie and Chappelle that really drives the whole production.
Perhaps it will make more sense if I describe what exactly Dave Chappelleâ?TMs Block Party consists of. Chappelle decides that he wants to have a giant block party in Brooklyn, and that he wants to invite most of todayâ?TMs popular political hip-hop artists to perform as well as people from all over to watch. The movie starts with Chappelle walking around Ohio, giving people his version of Wonkaâ?TMs golden ticket, to give them a ride to Brooklyn and a room for the night while there. He invites everyone he knows, from the woman at the convenience store to two college kids just passing through, to the Central State University marching band.
Then, we see Chappelle in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, talking to the people who live and work around where the concert will be held. When conversing with these people, we get a nice glimpse of Bed-Sty, one that, as Chappelle says, â?oeIn some parts looks like when The Cosby Show comes back from commercial, and in some parts like when Good Times comes back from commercial.â?? One of the people Chappelle talks to is the woman in charge of the school that the Notorious B.I.G. used to attend, and the message of the movie is clear: even though this is an area filled with its share of problems, you never know what the children may become.
Then, the concert begins, and the rest of the movie is an interplay between the concert and then Chappelle and the artists talking about Brooklyn, hip-hop, and life. The list of performers is astounding, featuring Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, The Roots, Kanye West, Dead Prez, and The Fugees. Thatâ?TMs right, the Fugees. It is worth seeing this movie simply to see them back together again, and to see Lauryn Hill belt out â?oeKilling Me Softlyâ?? with as much soul as she puts into â?oeJoyful, Joyfulâ?? at the end of Sister Act Two: Back in the Habit. The only problem with the performances is that we only see a few songs per artist, and the movie leaves you with a longing to make your own block party to have them all there. Also, the side of Chappelle we see is a very personal and intimate one that makes you love him by the end of the movie, much more than before. Whether he is doing crappy battle-rapping on stage, telling jokes with Mos Def, or doing poetry on stage, there is a human side to the movie that is touching. There is such honesty to this movie and Chappelle that really drives the whole production.
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