DAVE CHAPPELLE KNOWS HOW TO GET THE 'PARTY' STARTED.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic BEFORE HE went off to Africa (or went a little crazy, or was it both?), comedian Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle (born August 17, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian, satirist and actor. In 2003, he became known for his popular sketch comedy television series, Chappelle's Show. organized and hosted one of the greatest urban music shows of all time on a street corner in Brooklyn. The kinda genius French rock-vid director Michel Gondry and his definitely brilliant ``Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless spot·less adj. 1. Perfectly clean. See Synonyms at clean. 2. Free from blemish; impeccable. spot  less·ly adv. Mind'' cinematographer Ellen Kuras filmed the whole shebang Noun 1. whole shebang - everything available; usually preceded by `the'; "we saw the whole shebang"; "a hotdog with the works"; "we took on the whole caboodle"; "for $10 you get the full treatment" . And with a lot of rehearsal footage and preshow tomfoolery cut in, the result, ``Dave Chappelle's Block Party,'' is pure entertainment. It's the second must-see, Kuras-shot concert movie in a month. Unlike ``Neil Young: Heart of Gold,'' however, ``Block Party'' is not like having a front-row seat for the whole show. For one thing, there are no seats. For another, we rarely hear songs performed in their entirety. This might be a little frustrating for musical purists. But it feels like Gondry includes all the important stage moments. And what he cuts away to is consistently quite amusing. Which is to say it's usually about Chappelle cutting up. First he's trying to convince residents of Dayton, Ohio Dayton is a city in southwestern Ohio, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Montgomery County. As of the 2005 census estimate, the population of Dayton was 158,873. - ranging from middle-age lady shopkeepers to an entire college marching band Noun 1. marching band - a band that marches (as in a parade) and plays music at the same time band - instrumentalists not including string players - to accept his offer to bus them to the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of concert for free. Then he's trading off-color jokes with Mos Def. We see him gently messing with the minds of the kids at the day-care center day-care center: see day nursery. that becomes the concert's staging area staging area n. A place where troops or equipment in transit are assembled and processed, as before a military operation. Noun 1. . Suddenly, he's out on a basketball court, ``fighting white people for our freedom'' in a pickup game. And of course, he makes a great, clowning emcee, keeping the show moving between blistering sets by Kanye West, Common, Erykah Badu (with removable mega-Afro), Jill Scott and many more, most of whom are there to make strong, sometimes politically charged empowerment statements. The show climaxes with what was the first Fugees reunion in seven years. It was worth the wait, if only to hear Lauryn Hill wildcat wildcat, common name of two Old World cats, the European wildcat, Felis sylvestris, of Europe and W Asia, and the African wildcat, or kaffir cat, F. lybica, of Africa and Asia. her way through ``Killing Me Softly'' one more time. There's an intimate, just-throwing-a-party feel to the whole bash, thanks to Chappelle's pretension-puncturing humor and the sense that, whatever their issues or accomplishments, the artists are there mainly to share some love with their fans (yes, there is even crowd-surfing). As for whatever the host's problems are, if Chappelle could pull off something as sweet as his ``Block Party,'' we should all be so crazy. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY - Three stars (R: language) Starring: Dave Chappelle, Kanye West, Mos Def, Common, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, the Fugees. Director: Michel Gondry. Running time: 1 hr. 43 min. Playing: In wide release. In a nutshell: The wayward comedian hosted a pretty cool concert of top rap acts on a rainy summer weekend in Brooklyn. This is a record of that show, with jokes. |
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