THE ORIGINAL KINGS OF COMEDY
Rated R - Running Time: 1:55 - Released 8/18/00
Since Spike Lee is one of the most respected black directors of
all time, and one of my favorites, it seems surprising that he
is at the helm of The Original Kings Of Comedy, which is
basically just a straightforward film of a comedy concert by four
prominent black comedians. It's not that Kings is a bad
film, but it could have been directed by anyone; Lee seems overqualified.
The film's content is mainly just the onstage antics of emcee
Steve Harvey and his guests, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer,
and Bernie Mac, who each do about 20-30 minutes with Harvey appearing
in between, at a live concert filmed in Charlotte, North Carolina,
last February, part of the phenomenally successful Kings Of Comedy
tour which has swept the nation in the past few years. They don't
cover any astoundingly new material, but do get plenty of laughs
from their nearly all-black audience, discussing such things as
their grandmothers' behavior in church, their favorite kind of
music, the differences between blacks and whites, and sex. The
material is definitely aimed at black audiences, but there is
plenty to please everyone as long as one is not offended by profanity,
which is used heavily by all four comedians. The only bit I actually
found offensive was Mac's section on the virtues of good old-fashioned
child abuse when the kids act up. I can agree that child rearing
has become more challenging in recent years than in the old days
when a swat on the butt was the most common form of discipline,
but hitting a kid on the head with a hammer and leaving a bump
is just not funny to me. Also in his set was about 10 minutes
on the importance of the word "motherfucker" in black
vocabulary, featuring a hypothetical conversation containing the
word used in every sentence. I'm not personally offended by the
word; I just thought the bit was boring and uninspired.
The set is quite extravagant in the immense Charlotte Coliseum,
decorated with huge crowns and other kingly things, and Lee's
use of roving cameras in the house catches the favorable reactions
of the audience members during the entire film. In between the
sets are short, candid scenes shot backstage to help us get to
know the comics in a more personal way. It is during these intimate
scenes where Lee's style is more clearly evident, using settings
such as a basketball court or a poker game, along with inventive
camera angles and editing to give a spontanaeous feel.
Overall I would say that one's enjoyment of The Original Kings Of Comedy would depend on one's tastes in stand-up comedians. Not being of the African American persuasion, I could not clearly identify with a lot of what these guys were saying, but I still got a chuckle here and there. ***½