Having a lil' party...

Ah, a fine Sunday afternoon matinee in Springdale...just the right place to catch a cheaper showing of Dave Chapelle's Block Party...just me, my wife, and five other folks.

From what I've heard from friends and students who have seen this film, it's not playing to huge crowds, which is really a shame. It's an excellent movie that left me with a great feeling throughout.

First, a bit of a disclaimer, this is not a Dave Chapelle comedy film. It's not Half Baked or a collection of a bunch of Dave's comedy skits from his shows. Instead, this is mostly a concert film intercut with some funny moments of Dave interacting with the performers and concert-goers. Apparently the lack of comedy annoyed some folks.

Most of the reviews, however, have been totally positive, and they're well-deserved. The film does a wonderful job of showing the joy the Dave has in setting up this event - a day-long block party with music (Kanye West, the Fugees, Dead Prez, Mos Def, the Roots, Erikah Badu, Jill Scott, and a bunch more that I didn't exactly recognize) and food for a few hundred fans and friends of his. It's a massive collection of talent for one stage, and Dave apparently did everything he could to keep the concert from getting out of hand with press - inviting everybody to a location in Chinatown and then bussing them to Bedford Stuyveson where he puts on just about the best concert experience I can imagine.

Admittedly, it's not a film that's necessarily marketed to a pudgy white guy like me, but it's a great film. The pacing was wonderfully done by director Michael Gondry - beginning with the harder-core rap acts and fading into the soulful R&B of Scott & Badu by the end, letting the movie come together into a celebration of a comedian with a - then new - $50-million contract who just wanted to kick back and have a blast with some of his friends and favorite artists.

It's a hell of a party, and I whole-heartedly recommend it to anybody regardless of race, creed, color, or mood. No matter how you go in, you'll come out in a good one...