This
HBO special from 2000 has achieved something of a cult status on
peer-to-peer networks since its airing, especially in audio form, and
as such has gained even more popularity since Chappelle's venture into
Comedy Central's "Chappelle's Show" (which is finishing its third and
apparently final season right now).
Looking back, I find this to
be even funnier than his comedy show.
Whereas his (hilarious) sketch show can become a bit repetitive at
times and is almost always dealing with racial stereotypes and such,
"Killin' Them Softly" touches on everything - beginning with blacks and
whites ("DC has changed!"), moving on to crime, then television shows,
and of course marijuana.
My personal favorite bit has got to be
Chappelle's observations on
children's entertainment. He remarks how Pepé Le Pew is practically a
rapist and encourages children to "take the pussy(cat)" and how racist
"Sesame Street" was. ("Yeah, Oscar! You're a grouch." - "I live in a
trash can! What do you expect!") Don't forget The Count: "I know a pimp
when I see one!" To be honest I've found Chappelle's television show to
become a bit stale sometimes (even though I'm a huge fan of it) but I
was blown away - his stand-up comedy is even better. It's rare that I
find myself laughing out loud at comedy acts, but even without watching
him on stage, his vocal performance is gut-busting. The 911 phone call
bit is classic.
I don't want to discredit Richard Pryor and say
this is funnier, but if
you listen to some of Pryor's older stuff, Chappelle is touching on the
same issues as he did in the 1960s and '70s and is, at times, actually
doing it even funnier. Of course, Chappelle has some way to go before
matching Pryor's iconic status or even his later fusion of outrageous
comedy and social satire in the mid-'70s through the early '80s (which
surpasses the stuff here), but those comparing him to Pryor have a
reason to do so.(Excerpt from IMDB)
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