This Steve Harvey-hosted comedy concert flick
props up D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer and
Bernie Mac on a Charlotte, NC stage. (BTW, It's
directed and produced by Spike Lee at Four Acres and
a Mule.)
Shot on videotape, the image quality suffers (the
center wide shot blurring these comics faceless).
Still as the humor heats up, it's easy to forget
about this technical shortcoming.
Director Spike Lee, on the up and up, cuts up
these stand-up cut-ups nicely with backstage and
"just hangin'" shots of the quick to quip
quartet.
The first half of the film coasts with no big
laughs, but Cedric's appearance on the stage steps up
the pace and the funnies. Then Bernie Mac's
aggressive almost terrorist humor will be sure to get
you rolling - unless you're a PC person. Mac is so
"in your face," perhaps when TV/Cable finally
overcomes their fear of him, he'll have his own show
called "The Bernie Mac Attack."
Oddly enough, the topical nature of these four
occasionally overlaps. Especially noticeable the
subject of "old school music" vs. hip-hop rap culture
and the phenomenon regarding events in which white
people die in masses, but black people never do.
Highlights include: Hughley's observation on while
white people are always looking for something
exciting to do ... black people find regular things
exciting enough ... like "pulling out my wallet
without getting shot forty one times," Harvey's
impersonation of rappers, Cedric's re-write of
"Redemption Song," And Mac's school bus ride.
Sex and cussing are repeated motifs. In fact, the
film ends on Mac's "MF" injected monologue (which by
the way, isn't as funny as the school bus bit). But
despite the obscenities, a small segment on the "old
tunes" being all about "love" gives the entire piece
an overall warm heart.
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