Dave hits Bed-Stuy

What?!? Dave Chappelle's Block Party is as great as you'd expect

By Cheryl Eddy

>cheryl@sfbg.com

In September 2004, when MTV.com first reported on a free outdoor concert in Brooklyn being organized (and largely funded) by Comedy Central darling Dave Chappelle, it noted that a film of the event, shot by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), was earmarked for "a potential DVD release." Fast-forward a year and a half and a much-publicized breakdown later, and Dave Chappelle's Block Party is hitting theaters instead, conveniently timed to coincide with the comedian's recent return to the spotlight — which, given his recent history, is particularly glaring these days.

If his appearances on Inside the Actors Studio and Oprah felt a little like damage control, one need only watch the opening five minutes of Dave Chappelle's Block Party to remember why the master of timing was offered $50 million for two seasons of Chappelle's Show. (Not that fans of the show — funny and eminently quotable even after repeat viewings, as evidenced by its record-setting DVD sales — ever forgot.) Modeled on Wattstax, 1973's chronicle of "the black Woodstock," Block Party kicks off in Chappelle's Ohio hometown, with a car that won't start in the foreground, a marching band practicing in the background, and a bullhorn-wielding Chappelle outlining the roster for what he later calls "the concert I've always wanted to see." While Wattstax mixed performances by Isaac Hayes, the Bar-Kays, and other soul greats with Richard Pryor riffs, Block Party gathers the likes of Mos Def, Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Common, the Roots, and the reunited Fugees.

The Brooklyn concert segments are rousing: Gondry's camera captures a beaming crowd soaking up sun, rain, and the energy of musicians who (for the most part) seem thrilled to be jamming together. But without Chappelle, Block Party might feel like an all-star edition of MTV Unplugged. Instead, unlike last year's Aristocrats — I like gross-out humor as much as the next sicko, but admit it: That movie had precious few actual laughs — Block Party is pretty much nonstop hilarity, of the trademark good-natured-yet-edgy Chappelle's Show variety.

Chappelle's socially conscious humor feels particularly fresh and spontaneous (i.e., no catchphrases) in a documentary setting, as he riffs in a mirror ("Bitch, give me my money!") while modeling flashy clothes in a small-town men's shop; dryly comments on the crack-house potential of a building owned by a pair of dreamy-eyed hippies; rap-battles with an aggressive, Mohawked audience member; and tests the backup band's reflexes by incorporating James Brown–style "Hit me!" flourishes into his routine.

Gondry shadows Chappelle as he prepares for the show, pacing a rooftop overlooking the stage and singing the praises of acts like Dead Prez, whose overtly political lyrics, he speculates, have prevented the group from enjoying widespread commercial success. Gondry also steps away from Chappelle from time to time, catching up with the breathless Ohioans who've been bussed to New York especially for the show as well as the performers hanging out backstage; Jill Scott's sweetly catty dis of Erykah Badu is a particularly juicy moment.

Overall, Block Party is basically foolproof. Chappelle devotees are so eager for new material that Comedy Central recently announced plans to air all it can edit together from his sketch show's unfinished third season. The musical performances — kicked off by Kanye West, still in his "Jesus Walks" (not yet I-am-Jesus) period — are lively, with the added historical interest of seeing Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean sharing a stage again. Most important for Block Party's host, the film captures a certain innate joy (he calls the concert "the best single day of my career") that Chappelle apparently lost when he went AWOL last year. And though Block Party was filmed before his breakdown, its free-flowing happiness still offers hope for the comedian's ability to bounce back, especially when you consider what he told Oprah in February: "I don't want the money; I don't want the drama. I just want to do my show again." *

DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY

Opens Fri/3

Select Bay Area theaters

See Movie Clock at www.sfbg.com for showtimes.

www.chappellesblockparty.com/home