Last night, I watched Dave Chappelle’s “comedy” show “The Closer” on Netflix.
The word comedy appears in quotation marks because, Mr. Chappelle’s performance is not comedy. Not practically, anyway. Only virtually.
Did the audience laugh? Yes, a few times.
But a few laughs does not a comedian make.
Is Dave Chappelle a funny man?
He sure is! And, he’s had some absolutely BRILLIANT strokes of comedic genius — at least to my way of thinking.
The list of Mr. Chappelle’s awards for comedic excellence tell but a partial story, and includes:
• 3 Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album;
• 5 Emmy Awards — Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (2021, Dave Chappelle, Host Saturday Night Live “Host: Dave Chappelle”),
• 2-Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) (2018, Dave Chappelle: Equanimity; 2020, Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones),
• Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special (2020, Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones), and
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (2017, Dave Chappelle, Host Saturday Night Live “Host: Dave Chappelle”); and the coveted
• Mark Twain Prize for American Humor presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., among others. Of note, Richard Pryor was the award’s first recipient.
He’s certainly not a comedian along the lines, or in the style of comedienne Carol Burnett (also a Mark Twain Prize laureate), and her co-stars Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, and Vicki Lawrence, but when his series “Chappelle’s Show” (2003-2006) was in production on The Comedy Channel, one of his most brilliant pieces (in my estimation) was “Clayton Bigsby, the World’s Only Black White Supremacist.” Perhaps you’re familiar with it.
Neither is Mr. Chappelle’s comedy style like the acerbic, even venomous, late comedian Don Rickles, infamous for his notoriously wicked, and caustic sense of humor.
Nor is Mr. Chappelle’s humor like that of the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who, as he constantly reminded us, got no respect. His brand of self-deprecating humor was his iconic comedic trademark.
No, Mr. Chappelle’s style of humor is somewhat a blend of the above-mentioned comics, and incorporates elements of them all.
To be funny, comedy must, and does, Read the rest of this entry »
Warm Southern Breeze 