Dave Chapelle's Block Party

***ENHANCED REVIEW***

On the outset, Dave Chappelle's Block Party appears to be quite a straightforward film. The premise: Dave Chappelle, the hilarious star of the now defunct Chappelle's Show, throws a monstrous block party in New York City with his favorite artists. An odd and simple sounding film, yes, but just as American Beauty taught us, look closer.

Directed by Michel Gondry, the visionary who directed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and a handful of music videos from Bjork to The Rolling Stones to Kylie Minogue, Block Party takes a remarkable look at what it means to be an African-American in this day and how to come together as a people, especially through some of the most well known African-American artists today.

Inspired by the Mel Stuart documentary Wattstax, Block Party is the story of a 5,000+ block party held in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn on September 14, 2004, hosted by the reliably hilarious Dave Chappelle. This is no ordinary block party; this is top-secret, invite-only for those who have either been invited in-person by Chappelle himself or have made it on the list by signing up online. From the very start of Block Party, we see that this will be a seriously entertaining affair, with Chappelle yelling the many artists featured in the film through a loudspeaker in the opening credits. The artist's names shoot out of the loudspeaker in animated, funky lettering and wiggles onscreen (think The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air).

Gondry takes us on a journey through pre-block party preparations, most of it following Chappelle while he hands out tickets in his hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio. We go back and forth through time, witnessing part of one artist's set the day of the block party and then moving back to pre-party mode. Oddly, but thankfully, we never hear about the involved planning process (e.g. permits, record label drama, etc.) that must surround the block party. Chappelle hands out golden tickets, which include transportation, lodging, food, and admission to his block party to the most unexpecting, including the woman at the gas station where he buys his cigarettes. In one strange segment of Block Party, Chappelle takes us on a much too long and confusing voyage through the well-known Angel House in Clinton Hill. There, we arguably meet one of the most bizarre couples ever caught onscreen.

This is not a film about David Chappelle. This is a documentary about people coming together, no matter where they are from or what their skin color is, to celebrate life, specifically the self-expression that music has the power of conveying. Funded by Chappelle's very own money, Block Party acknowledges the importance and power of community and hope, especially in areas where people aren't often given the opportunity to see their favorite artist or travel halfway across the country, much less cross the state line. In essence, this is a film about the average folk being an equal to the massive celebrity.

Buzzing with onscreen energy, Block Party has numerous touching moments, from Common's beautiful monologue at the start of the film to Lauryn Hill's engaging and effortless rendition of "Killing Me Softly". Most moving to me, however, was the story of Ohio's Central State University's marching band being given the opportunity to not only attend, but perform at Chappelle's block party. Words cannot describe the excitement that these kids felt when they were told by their bandleader that they had to cancel their previously scheduled performance for the weekend -- only to be told that they would be be attending Chappelle's block party instead. In one powerful scene, a bandmember was on a roof in Brooklyn commenting that he felt welcomed and at home in the city, that "people have (dread)locks like me!"

What's really interesting about Block Party is that it was shot before Chappelle's sudden departure from his acclaimed The Chappelle Show. His exit in May 2005 made a huge media impact because Chappelle, now a well-recognized star in his own right, had fled without notice to South Africa. In later interviews, Chappelle said that he was stressed out and felt that too many people were controlling his life. Block Party shows Chappelle in his most natural form -- making people laugh, keeping the ones close that he loves, and bringing people together. It seems that he didn't want to get carried away and as a safety precaution, dropped out of life as he knew it.

What's also interesting is that Block Party was shot just over a month after Chappelle signed a $50 million contract with Comedy Central. Was he trying to make people realize that he was still an accessible, "real" human being? Did he think that his reputation would get slaughtered if he didn't hold a free community celebration? He seems the type of person who would think himself a thief, like he doesn't deserve $50 million and wants people to know that he won't turn into the typical rags-to-riches, spoiled star. Throughout Block Party, Chappelle comes across as an equal because he wants to come across as an equal, something that most superstars admit they desire but then contradict themselves by performing lavish, selfish acts. Ultimately, though, would Chappelle have thrown this block party had he not signed this contract?

One has to wonder how Block Party would have turned out had it been taped post Hurricane Katrina considering New Orleans is predominantly African-American. We all remember Kanye West's live television appearance where he declared that "George Bush doesn't like black people." While I'm not sure if this is true, the Bush administration's response (or lack of response) to Hurricane Katrina was appalling and caused many people, specifically African-Americans, to lose faith in the government. The Bush administration left the people of New Orleans in the cold, especially the lower class African-Americans in the Lower Ninth Ward, because the administration was "opposed to a strong federal role in disaster relief and obsessed with terrorism." People had to work together like never before during Katrina because nobody, not even FEMA, had their backs. Would Block Party have taken a more political tone post-Katrina? Would it be a more somber affair?

Block Party works because it's not The Chappelle Show: The Movie, which I'm sure people were expecting. Instead, the camera plays the role of an outside observer; Chappelle doesn't seem to have any ulterior motives other than hosting a celebration of life, particularly African-American culture. Does the film succeed in its intent? Mostly. The film has a tendency of going on extraneous tangents and should have been twenty minutes shorter, but Block Party is a beautifully constructed meditation on Hip-Hop, Rap, the people who construct it and, perhaps most importantly, the people who listen to it. Block Party is about the human race, no matter what ethnicity, uniting in peace and taking action, a theme that seems so trite but is more relevant than ever in the world today, especially when we have instances where our government fails our people as they did in the instance of Hurricane Katrina.

Block Party features the talent of Mos Def, Jill Scott, Common, The Fugees, Kanye West, John Legend, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez, and the Central State University Marching Band, among others.