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(More customer reviews)For all its benefits, one of the things that modern technology has really put the kibosh on, unfortunately, is the concert movie.
These days, fans can see their favorite musicians on so many small screens -- on cable TV, the Internet, even their cellphones -- that there really isn't much of a demand for old-school, 1970s and '80s-era big-screen music experiences in the style of "Woodstock," "The Last Waltz," Led Zeppelin's "The Song Remains the Same" or the Talking Heads' excellent "Stop Making Sense."
Leave it to comedian Dave Chappelle, then, to bankroll something as unexpected as "Block Party," a film that fits right into that "back-in-the-day" cinematic category.
In September 2004, (before his famous flight to Africa) Chappelle set up a stage in Brooklyn's Bed-Stuy neighborhood and filmed a concert that featured hip-hop and R&B acts including Kanye West, the Roots, Erykah Badu and a reunion of the Fugees.
Like the 1973 documentary "Wattstax" (to which "Block Party" pays unabashed homage), the film focuses as much on the audience and the show's locale as it does the musicians onstage, and Chappelle wanders through it all, riffing in his edgy drawl that's part hip alley cat, part lunatic. His comic bit about James Brown's routine of commanding "hornshouts" from his band, those little blasts of instrumental punctuation, is one of the funniest scenes in any comedy in a long while.
Director Michel Gondry, who animated the White Stripes with Lego blocks and made "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," filmed the concert and peppers the movie with great little random, textural bits: Chappelle reflecting on jazz great Thelonious Monk or talking to the woman who supervised the day care center attended by the late Biggie Smalls; Wyclef Jean firing up a group of kids; a blissfully happy young couple on their way to the show.
There's a lot of music in the movie, too, and while "Block Party" isn't as much of a roof-raiser as one might expect (the heaviest it gets is West performing "Jesus Walks" with the Central State University marching band), the vibe is mostly funk and jazzy riffs, surprisingly mellow and accessible.
If the film has a drawback it's that, as in "Wattstax," the performance footage is constantly intercut with interviews. It's great to see the Fugees together again, but odd when Gondry cuts into their number to show ... musicians commenting on how great it is to see the Fugees together again.
But that's a minor quibble. For the most part, "Block Party" is an exuberant, inspiring surprise and a welcome wintertime blast of music and comedy. And it's especially cool that Chappelle has brought the concert movie back to American multiplexes.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Dave Chappelle's Block Party (Unrated Widescreen Edition) (2006)
DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY - DVD Movie
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