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Ain't No Party Like a Dave Chappelle Block Party...
What would you do if you signed a contract for $50 million? Take off for the Four Seasons Bali never to be seen again? Buy a golf course in Hawaii and work on your game while sipping Mai Tais for the next 25 years? Establish a few non-profits or maybe take a shot at that whole world peace thing? Or would you promote peace on a somewhat smaller scale by throwing a kick-ass party for a bunch of strangers and people from your hometown with performances by some of the biggest names in music? Dave Chappelle chose the latter, and for that we are all fortunate.
Dave Chappelle's Block Party is nothing short of life affirming. After signing his multi-million dollar deal with Comedy Central in 2004, Chappelle decided he wanted to throw the block party to end all block parties. He wanted all of his favorite bands to be there. He wanted to have people from his hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio there, people who may otherwise never get a chance to see the big city. And he wanted to do it all for free. And he wanted it to be a surprise. And to top it off, he wanted to have famed director Michel Gondry film the whole thing so those of us who were not among the lucky 5,000 or so to be there could share in the experience.
What resulted is not quite a concert documentary and not quite a comedy film. It's more like watching home movies from Chappelle as he takes his vision from pre-production planning through to the end of the raucous concert. But the film does not commit to a linear narrative, instead hopping from Ohio to Brooklyn, mid-show to pre-production. You see Chappelle mingling with the locals outside of Yellow Springs, liked a modern day pied piper (or Willy Wonka) handing out golden tickets to his unassuming neighbors, tickets that would afford them travel, accommodation and entree to the party of the year. You see him surprising the local college band by asking them to come perform in New York City. And through it all one gets an incredible sense of the humanity, kindness and joy for life that the young comedian has. He wants to celebrate his success, but he wants everyone to share in it with him. It is clear is intent is to spread the love, as it were, not self-aggrandize or separate himself from his community.
And seeing Chappelle interact with musicians, school teachers, fans, friends, strangers, etc., you realize Chappelle is in his element at all times. Wherever there is someone to make laugh, someone to talk to, to relate to, Dave is at home. He converses with the militant and notoriously reclusive Dead Prez as easily as he does the head of a children's day care center. He can prepare a lounge-style comedy act with Mos Def (possibly the coolest cat on the planet) the night before the block party with the same ease with which he converses in the local convenience store in Ohio. People love Dave Chappelle, and by all indications in this film, Dave loves them back.
Missing from all of the discussion thus far has been the music. Gondry never shows more than one or two songs in a row, keeping the neophyte hip-hop listener from feeling too bogged down by the music, but the director uses the performances as a perfect accent in the narrative mix. Kanye West, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Common, the Roots, Talib Kweli, the most important names in hip-hop over the past 10 years all turn out to play a free show in the middle of Brooklyn on a rainy September day. They put their egos aside and came to party together because when Dave Chappelle calls, apparently you say yes, regardless of the conditions. Who else could get The Fugees to reunite on stage after an almost-ten-year hiatus? The spirit of the performances and the nature of the gathering of all these artists reflects what the hip-hop community should be all about: individual expression that speaks to a larger group, music that makes you want to stand up, dance, throw your fist in the air and shake your ass. Nothing less than a collective cry of solidarity and hope in the face of oppression.
There are hilarious moments of comedy from one of today's masters of the art, hair raising performances by the leaders of the hip-hop movement and poignant moments of humanity throughout. Dave Chappelle may have thrown a block party for a few thousand people in New York City, but the resulting film will touch all who see it. It will make you laugh hysterically, make you wanna dance in the aisle and damn near make you cry.
He may be rich, bitch, but he is comedy's everyman, and he just wants to share the love. Thanks, Dave.
Dave Chappelle's Block Party
Showtimes
*Image from Dave Chappelle's Official Site*
