Dave Chappelle's Block Party

Before seeing this movie I kind of didn’t know what to expect from this. I remember seeing commercials on TV for Dave Chappelle’s Block Party near its 2004 release, but I passed it off for being just another concert movie, despite being a fan of Chappelle. Now that I finally saw it, and read up about the whole “Dave Chappelle incident,” I found this film to be a bit more than just your regular concert/ documentary movie. This movie went to theaters just as Dave Chappelle’s return to the states from his spiritual retreat to Africa; it was the movie that he wanted to do while was still working on Chappelle.

I instantly became a fan of Dave Chappelle through his sketch comedy show Chappelle’s Show and from there went on to his other works. I first heard of him through friends constantly asking me, “Have you seen the Chappelle’s show!?” Highly interested, I had to check it out, and instantaneously I loved it. On the Chappelle’s Show, Dave tackles many issues, primarily regarding race, but even though race is a difficult topic Chappelle shows it in a comedic way, but also sometimes very smart. From checking out his other works I found him to be a great comedian.

Directed by Michael Gondry, probably best known for directing the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Dave Chappelle’s Block Party is not your average concert/ documentary, I felt there to be perhaps a larger message. Now looking back and seeing what Michael Gondry does, this is an interesting collaberatioin between him and Dave Chappelle. It obviously has the main concert, with musical acts in the genre of hip-hop and soul such as Mos Def, Kanye West, the Roots, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, and a surprise reunion of the Fugees, as well as some behind the scenes on how they made this block party for the whole documentary aspect. The movie basically starts off in Dayton, Ohio, where Dave currently resides, letting the town know and giving some people tickets to his Block Party in Brooklyn, New York. By chance, Chappelle ran into a marching band and invited them to come play at the block party. In these scenes we see how some people from the small area actually view the hip-hop genre, the majority of people where surprisingly interested, one woman even went onto say, while she was packing to go, “I knew I should’ve bought a thong,” but looking back, it wasn’t it really that type of concert.

Throughout the movie we get to see performances from the featured artists with occasional cuts to Dave and the crew setting the block party up, I felt that it was done extremely well and at no point I became lost; everything just tied together and flowed. During the whole “set-up” we get to see a lot of interesting people and places; the surrounding area had a daycare, a Salvation Army, and a chair factory. One place that sticks out the most in this film is the Broken Angel House, located at 4/6 Downing Street, right behind where Dave set up the stage. The Broken Angel House is a very interesting and strange structure, at first I though it was a church. The outside of the building was very asymmetrical and the inside looked like a giant maze to me. There are even rooms within the house which had no floors or roof, meaning that this house was still being worked on, and has been for years. Not only was the house interesting, but the people who lived there as well. Artists Arthur and Cynthia Wood, who at the time of the film had their 46th anniversary, owned the Broken Angel House.

Large parts of the film, of course, are the performances. I was never that big on hip-hop, with only a couple artists I really like, but this movie totally gave me a new genre to check out, neo soul. After the movie I found myself picking up some of the artist’s work, and I have to say, I love it; as I’m writing this, I am listening to Mos Def. From watching this movie, I really got this feeling of community and closeness with everybody, which I believe is the theme and what Dave is trying to get at. It’s the “down to earth” quality that everyone had which made me like this movie even more. The block party was a place just to have a good time and have fun, no matter who you are; the film had a feel-good vibe to it. That’s what I love about concerts that I personally go to myself. It’s the fact that for a few hours you can just forget about everything that’s going on with your life or around the world and just have a good time no matter who you are with, that’s what I felt was accomplished in this film. Overall I found this to be a very enjoyable and entertaining film, but aside from that, it really showed togetherness. With the always-funny Dave Chappelle and of course the stellar line up of hip-hop and soul acts, I can say that I recommend this movie and anyone can at least find something they like within this movie.