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THE ORIGINAL KINGS OF COMEDY
Review by Gordon Justesen
Stars: Steve Harvey,
D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, Bernie Mac
Director: Spike Lee
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround
Video: Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic Transfer
Studio: Paramount
Features: Trailer, Music Video, Bonus Scenes
Length: 115 Minutes
Release Date: February 27, 2001
Film ***1/2
For a while, it
seemed as if the stand-up comedy concert genre had disappeared from movie
screens, only to have a future in video. The genre was perfected in the early
80s by such stand-up pioneers as Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy. Now Spike Lee
has revived the stand-up concert genre with his larger than life documentary The
Original Kings of Comedy, featuring four of the hottest and funniest
comedians working in contemporary stand-up comedy; Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley,
Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac. The four comedians formed the Kings of
Comedy Tour in 1997, and it has resulted in the highest grossing comedy tour in
history. Lee collaborated with the Kings to shoot this movie during a
performance in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Kings themselves wanted a movie to
be made for this simple reason, if they never came to a certain town, or tickets
were so hard to get for a show, they could see the movie and get a feeling of
what their show is like. I saw the movie twice at the theater, and both times I
felt as if I was attending an actual live show. The feeling was that real, and
Spike Lee’s camera work helps create it. This is hands down one of the
funniest movies in a long time. Never before has a movie made me howl with
laughter, other than say, Meet the Parents. Like many modern comedians,
these guys make you laugh so hard, because what these guys say isn’t just
funny, it’s so, so true.
First up on stage is
Steve Harvey, the MC of the show who provides his own comedy act before
introducing each comedian. Harvey opens with some comments on the success of
Charlotte’s football team, as well as some riotous thoughts on Ray Caruth’s
botched escape plan from the law. Harvey
implies, “As a kid, Ray-Ray had to be the stupidest kid to ever play hide and
go seek.” He also offers his opinion on the success of the movie Titanic.
According to Harvey, “If there had been a bit about black people, there
wouldn’t have even been a movie.” He goes on to comment about the scene of
the movie where the band continues to play on the deck of the ship as it is
slowly sinking. Harvey asks the audience, “What black band you know is gonna
keep playing when the damn ship is going down? Kool and the Gang would’ve been
unplugged and gone!” The show had hardly begun, and I was already about to
fall out of my chair laughing.
Harvey then brings
out D.L. Hughley, who has made a name for himself in both stand-up comedy and
prime television. Hughley begins with some unique and funny insight as to what
differs black people from white people. He presents such situations as getting
fired to receiving calls from bill collectors. He then goes on to explain why
it’s so hard to make love to your wife when you have kids, and it includes
such hysterical dramatizations as a boy walking in a lovemaking mom and dad,
shouting “GET OFF MY MOMMA!!!” Hughley wastes no time in going after the
most distinguishing members of the audience, in a scene so uncompromisingly
funny, it kind of makes you feel glad that you’re not actually there to be
heckled.
Harvey returns to the
stage in perhaps the film’s funniest moment. He cleverly differentiates the
old school music of the 70s to today’s crass hip-hop scene, where he feels the
message of love has completely been lost and replaced by lyrics such as “I
shoot ya in da chest! I’ll wax you!”. He then brilliantly illustrates a
wonderful complaint of why today’s hip-hop group, consisting of 40 plus
members, must issue a microphone, when such groups as The Temptations were much
more talented, and only needed one microphone to prove it. If Harvey’s take on
toady’s rap music doesn’t leave you gasping for breath from laughter,
nothing ever will.
Next up is
wonderfully funny and superbly talented Cedric the Entertainer, who starts off
by discussing how whites live on one creed, while blacks live on a totally
different creed. He informs the audience that whites live by the ‘hope’
factor, and blacks live by the ‘wish’ factor, which he illustrates in a
situation showing what would happen if two whites were late for a Kings show,
and what would happen if two blacks were late. The joke involves the possibility
of one’s reserved seat being occupied, and I’ll leave the two factors to
you, dear reader, to apply. Cedric also offers some funny insight on why Bill
Clinton is the closest thing we will get to a black president. He also includes
some funny bits on why blacks run away from trouble, ghetto weddings, and The
Post-Tiger Woods Renaissance.
Last, but not least is the hard-edged Bernie Mac, whose comedy
is clearly the most personal of the four comedians.
When describing what it’s like to take care of his sister’s three
kids, he doesn’t hesitate to admit that no matter how young a kid is, he will
gladly put that young one out of his or her misery if pushed to the wire. Bernie
addresses to the audience, “You people can’t really say these things in
life, so I say it for you.” Bernie also explains why it’s so difficult to
make love at his age, and pokes fun at the consequences. He also offers many
ways to apply the term “motherf-----“.
At the heart of this
laugh fest is Spike Lee’s unique vision. His style of documenting this comedy
show helps enhance the overall enjoyment of the presentation. Other than Bernie
Mac, who I remember seeing in such movies as Life and Friday, I
had never seen these comedians perform before, and I am happy that I got a
chance to see them from a certain perspective. They are four of the funniest,
most talented, and most raw comedians to ever grace the comedy stage. The
Original Kings of Comedy is comedic gem of a movie, and hopefully because of
it, we will see more comedy concert movies in the near future. Maybe some from a
few of the Kings themselves.
Video ***1/2
Although the look of the film is different from seeing in the theater, because the format it was shot in shows up differently on video or DVD, this is a fabulous looking disc from Paramount. Colors light up and are displayed beautifully, especially in concert footage. Even the behind the scenes moments don’t flaw a bit as you might expect them to. A video transfer that superbly helps bring the live experience to life.
Audio ****
I mentioned earlier
that watching this movie was like actually being at the live show itself, and
the sound quality of The Original Kings of Comedy enhances that feeling a
hundred percent. An astounding sounding disc, which captures everything from
numerous music interludes, crowd noise, and the voices of the comedians
themselves, making it sound as if they are live right in your living room. A
glorious 5.1 Dolby Digital presentation in a movie totally worthy of superior
sound.
Features **1/2
Not too bad of a job from Paramount in the extras field. Included on the disc are some bonus scenes cut from the movie, a music video for the song “#1 Stunna” by Big Tymers, which also features Steve Harvey, and a trailer.
Summary:
If you’re in a
laugh-till-it-hurts kind of mood, look no further than The Original Kings of
Comedy, a rare kind of comedy where you might find yourself wanting to watch
it again just to catch what you missed when you were laughing so hard during the
previous viewing.