Dave Chappelle is Back with "Block Party"

Dave Chappelle is back. Yes, that Dave Chappelle, the one who walked away from the $50 million deal and his third season of "Chappelle's Show" at Comedy Central last year, the one who walked out at the peak of his success in a controversial and sudden escape to South Africa amid rumors of a breakdown. His new movie "Block Party" opens this week and we really want to see it. From the looks of it and from what we've read so far, it's the kind of film that we'd usually just wait to see on DVD or when it airs on TV a year or so after theatrical release. But we're really curious about this on. Why? Well, for one thing, because one of our favorite film directors, Frenchman Michel Gondry (he directed "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"), helmed this project. For another, 'cause it's Chappelle and he's funny as hell. "Block Party" is not a comedy film, but rather a comedic documentary about a massive block party in Brooklyn put together by Chappelle in 2005. It's also part concert flick featuring Chappelle's stand-up comedy riffs onstage at the block party, as well as musical performances by some of the brightest names in hip-hop and new soul over the past decade -- Mos Def, Kanye West, the Roots, Jill Scott, Erykah Badhu and -- get this -- a reunion performance by the Fugees! We love Chappelle and his comedy. We love Hip-hop (we're especially big fans of Mos Def and the Roots). And we love the documentary format and Gondry's work. So ... we've just gotta see this film when it opens.

Posted by Robsam at February 28, 2006 01:18 AM