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THE ORIGINAL KINGS OF COMEDY Send This Review to a Friend
Director Spike Lee has performed a service in bringing us his account of the brilliant, exuberant humor of four African-American comedians who tour before largely black audiences and send their audiences into roars of laughter. In "The Original Kings of Comedy" Lee records one such session before a vast crowd in Charlotte, North Carolina, and we not only get to laugh with the spectators but glean a sense of what's at the base of this success.
The foursome includes Steve Harvey (known from "The Steve Harvey Show" on television), D. L. Hughley (of the sitcom "The Hughleys"), Cedric the Entertainer and Bernie Mac. Each is funny in his own manner, whether the comedy depends on clever verbal routines or physicality. The humor is outspoken without any semblance of political correctness, reticence about profanity or shyness about sex. The comics twit their own people, much as Jackie Mason mines humor from Jewishness, and the shrieks of the laughter of recognition demonstrate how on-target they must be. Mostly, the humor is aimed at patterns in life, rather than turning political, and much of it dwells on perceived differences in behavior between whites and blacks, as when suggesting that no black musicians would keep playing while the Titanic is sinking.
The closest they get to politics is laughing at the possibility of a black American president by reducing facing trillions of dollars in national debt to the image of such a president fending it off as he might deal with creditors dunning him. "Can I give you a little bit now?" There is also the very funny speculation of how differently a black president might have handled Clinton's sex scandal.
Recognition must be paid to the well-honed skills of the performers, who know how to connect with their audience and have developed their material to perfection, complete with perfect timing. They build and build until they have their audience in a state of uproarious laughter. I have seen others do this, such as Alan King. The added element here is how all four have put their fingers on humor that has a special appeal to black audiences. But white audiences are missing out if they don't zero in on these talented entertainers who are so funny that they transcend being targeted for any one group. Although director Lee adds some off-stage moments, he has the wisdom to rely on his subjects and presents their comedy straightforwardly. A Paramount release.
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