Let's get one thing straight, from jump:
if one is to speak of kings of comedy - especially filmed concert-comedy,
and most especially in terms of originality - any exclusion of the name
Richard Pryor, immediately calls ones sanity into question. Not
to mention the magnitude of ones cajones. So, are Misters Harvey, Hughley,
Entertainer [yes, I know], and Mac, heirs to Pryor's crown, or just
mere pretenders to the throne?
Hmmm...
THE STORY
Named after the long-running comedy tour that began in 1997 and ended
on the same stage in 2000, The Original Kings Of Comedy
was filmed at the Charlotte Coliseum on February 26th and 27th, 2000,
and features stand-up comedians and actors Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley,
Cedric The Entertainer, and Bernie Mac. The four men are shown not only
on-stage, but also in short behind-the-scenes bits that give the audience
a brief look at what motivates These Four Kings to do what they do best.
Look and listen closely, and you might find that what you see on-stage,
is not necessarily what you'd get in Real Life...
THE UPSHOT
I think Pryor can breathe easy. This foursome is good, no doubt, but it'll take a
lot more than their approximately 30 minutes of stage time each, to
wipe away any memories of Richard Pryor: Live On The Sunset Strip
from my mind.
That said, past the "trash-talk" title of this Spike Lee joint, the
four Kings comedians do fit the bill for an audience that is used
to their brand of comedy - and, let's face it: that audience consists
mostly of cultural Blacks, and Whites who are Down.
Not to say that any of the four were purposefully exclusionary - they
weren't. It's just that I'd be very surprised to hear that Mr.
And Mrs. Mainstreet were as laid out throughout
most of this concert, as many of the members of my (mixed ages and races)
viewing audience were at times.
[Hmmm...maybe I've gotten off to a bad start here. Mr. And Mrs.
Mainstreet, feel free to go see the "Kangs" (as Steve Harvey jokingly
said the "country-ass" audience referred to them). You can be Down too.
Anyway...]
Each of the four comics have had successes in similar venues: Harvey
hosts It's Showtime At The Apollo and is the star of The
Steve Harvey Show TV series; Hughley was the original host of
BET's Comic View (back when it was funny) and like Harvey,
is also star of a self-titled TV series (The Hughley);
Cedric The Entertainer was the host of the second year of Comic
View (back when it was still funny, though well on the way to
becoming the unfunny joke that it is today) and co-stars on The
Steve Harvey Show; and Bernie Mac, along with his ongoing role
on Moesha, has appeared in movies like Life
and Above The Rim. But in this comedy concert, it was
their skills as veteran stand-up comedians, that came into play. With
varying degrees of success.
Those "varying degrees" were strange, considering that each of the
four had very similar routines - granted, spiced with their own personal
flava. If you kept track, you'd note that each
of them touched on Old School ways, on male/female
relationships, and on the ObWhiteAudienceMembers and how "we're different...but
really, we're the same", amongst other similar topics. Of course, such
is the Stuff of comedy, especially the comedy of My People. The way
some of the comedians were better at that Stuff than others, though,
put me in mind of IROC car races: since the vehicles are similarly equipped,
the winner is determined solely on his or her driving skills. And in
this case, Steve Harvey - playing concert host while doing his own schtick
- won the Kings' Race Of Champions.
Harvey, a self-proclaimed "country boy", had both the Charlotte and the
theater audience right in the palm of his hand. He worked the crowd
like a master (to say that he reminded me of Johnny Carson in this,
is a compliment), and almost everything out of Harvey's mouth, was flat-out
funny. D.L Hughley, who followed Harvey, wasn't as "on" as I've seen
him in the past. I've never heard this particular routine of his before,
but it sounded too familiar; too...tired. I found myself wishing he'd
do his brilliant "Come Back With Me" nostalgia "tour" (which reminds
me: I need to find that tape...).
Up next was the always-stylish Cedric The Entertainer, and while he
couldn't quite top Harvey, he also pumped up both audiences. I know
I'd pay for a recording of "Peanut Butter...No Jam". Closing
the bill - in my opinion, a mistake - was Bernie Mac. The thought that
kept coming to me while watching Mac was, "what the hell is he so mad
about?". The second thought was, "...and why should I care?". Not a
good thing when you're supposed to be laughing at the jokes. True, I
snickered now and then, but Mac never took off for me. And neither did
the relatively flat ending.
Unless I miss my guess, Spike Lee should take blame for that virtual
thud. That, the ineffectiveness of too many of the background bits [why
not spend some time telling us about the tour itself? Or why such talented
men aren't making hand-over-fist like buttcheek-spreaders like Jim Carrey?
Why'd you short-change the off-stage bits, Spike?], and especially
the terrible editing job done on this film. And can you get less impersonal
than to keep showing the auto-tracking camera moving back and forth
across the stage? The cold feeling of the shots almost negated the energy
that Harvey & Company generated. Still, Lee deserves props if only for
bringing this concert to a wide audience. After all, when's the last
time you saw a comedy concert released theatrically?
Taken on its own merits, The Original Kings Of Comedy
was a successful comedy concert; more successful in some parts (any
time Steve Harvey was on-stage) than in others (Bernie Mac's show-closing
routine, Spike Lee's filming, the poor editing, and the "off" feeling
some of the non-concert bits), but overall, a good show to watch. But
it does beg two related questions: one, why a theatrical release? (possible
answer: not everybody gets HBO?); and two, why MTV Films?
THE "BLACK FACTOR" [ObDisclaimer: We Are Not A Monolith]
Thank you, Brother Spike, for providing me with the grindstone for today's
Black Factor Axe.
How's that?, you say? Well, I'll tell ya: it has been said that
Lee chose MTV Films over BET as a vehicle for producing Kings primarily
because, in a word, BET is notoriously cheap toward its performers (something
to the effect of Lee wanting to be paid in something other than "sodas
and subs"). Say what you want about the guy, but in this case,
I say, more power to ya, Spike.
Ahhh, BET: home of the wannabe-a-goldtooth-gangsta video manual, the
return of the minstrel show (aka, the latter years of Comic View),
and the never-ending infomercial. BET: the Graveyard for any and every
old Black TV show - as long as it was a comedy (and usually, a lame
one). BET: The Hoochie Network. Yes, Brother Spike was right on the
money, in more ways than one. And if Lee's word ain't good enough for
you, check out the comic strip The
Boondocks by Aaron McGruder. McGruder's strip frequently provides
pointed - and funny - commentary on the sad state of BET. Bammer sez
check it out.
Now, don't get me wrong; BET owner Robert Johnson knows how the game
is played in the capitalistic society known as Corporate America. We
can bitchnmoan until the cows come home, but at the end of the day,
Johnson uses BET to line his pockets with dough. And maybe that's as
it should be; after all, Johnson is really no different than the owners
of any other television network, who are also out to line their pockets
with dough, and produce pablum just as unpalatable as anything on BET.
But one thing is certain: given Johnson's bottom line, the history of
BET to this point, and how We sometimes view anything Black-related,
We delude Ourselves when We think that BET is anything deeper
than what the name implies: a television network that (purports that
it) provides entertainment either primarily for, or about, Blacks.
Still..."Black Entertainment Television", my melanin-enhanced behind.
With a notable few exceptions (Tavis Smiley, Teen Summit,
Bobby Jones Gospel, and maybe one or two more), it's been
a LONNNNNNNG time since I was Entertained by anything on BET. As always,
Your Mileage May Vary.
BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE
"Kings"? Hmmm...more like Clown Princes (and Bernie Mac, more a Squire).
Still, the foursome did well, with Steve Harvey conducting the How To
Work An Audience clinic of a lifetime. I have no idea whathell was up
with Spike Lee's poor filming and editing, though. This joint looked
downright ugly.
THE ORIGINAL KINGS OF COMEDY:
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