Dave Chappelle's Block Party

Man, did this ever die at the box office this weekend. There weren't too many people in the theater when I went the other day, but that was at 11:45 AM on Saturday morning. So I didn't think much of it.

But it's a very good film. It's billed as a concert film but it's really a lot more than that. It's fascinating as a character study of Dave Chappelle, and his ambivalence towards fame and fortune. As it goes on, it also becomes a sociological document about the Bed-Stuy neighborhood in which the concert takes place.

In fact, the concert elements are really the weakest of the film, due to the decisions throughout to cut away from the music in mid-performance. It was like Live8 all over again. But I also think we get enough to have a reasonable idea what went down. It's more confirmation that Kanye West and Mos Def are ridiculously talented individuals, that The Roots can pretty much do anything, and that Jill Scott is not afraid to follow Erykah Badu.