List
Best of the Chris Rock Show Vol. II
General Details
Director:
Scott Preston, Linda Mendoza
Writer:
Bryan H. Tucker, Daniel Dratch, Halsted Sullivan, John Marshall, Robin Montague, Tony Rock
Producer:
Ali LeRoi, Gary Natoli
Theatrical:
1997
Rated:
NR
Studio:
HBO Home Video
Genre:
Comedy
Duration:
55
DVD Details
Languages:
English
Sound:
Dolby
Aspect Ratio:
1.33:1
UPC:
9780783118390
Discs:
1
Region:
1
Release:
Aug 2001
Price:
$14.98
Credits
Chris Rock
Loring Murtha
Wanda Sykes
Ali LeRoi
Cleo Hayes
Grandmaster Flash
Monteria Ivey
Tom Agna
Peter Austin Noto
Summary
Chris Rock lives up to his reputation on this second collection of sketches and parodies from his HBO series--he is not only funny, he has a genuine political edge, pointing up contradictions and racial tension in American society. His material ranges from mock investigative reports (including an exposé of racist toys like "Mr. Sweet Potato Head" and "Low Expectations Scrabble") to commercial parodies (such as ads for the Malcolm X Games--"Because being extreme isn't just for white devils anymore"). But his best work has got to be his genuine on-the-street interviews, in which he asks men at boxing gyms to name their favorite white fighter or asks random New Yorkers if black people should receive reparations for slavery. He even goes down to South Carolina to talk to residents about why the Confederate flag flies over the state capitol; he finally gets a number of people on the street to agree to a different flag that replaces the stars in the Confederate flag with the stars of the WB (like Brandy and Robert Townsend). What people are willing to say in front of him is both funny and frightening. Chris Rock makes cutting-edge comedy seem simple; after an hour of this show, it's incomprehensible why "Saturday Night Live" and "Mad TV" are so abysmally toothless. "--Bret Fetzer"