Brain Blenders: I’M RICH BIATCH!!!

By: A. Ford

How sensitive are you to racial humor? Here is a good litmus test for you…does Blazing Saddles offend you? If it does, then you might not want to tune into The Chappelle Show.

By the way, the role of Sheriff Bart (Cleavon Little) was originally meant for Richard Pryor, one of the screenwriters on the Mel Brooks classic that was nominated for 3 Academy Awards, but Pryor was considered too controversial at the time.

But if you are not offended by that THEN YOU MUST WATCH THE CHAPPELLE SHOW ON COMEDY CENTRAL!!! Dave Chappelle has been somewhat of underground success with his steady stand-up career and the cult classic “Half-Baked” for many years now. And even though he has appeared in hits such as “You Have Mail”, and “The Nutty Professor”. But he has never taken off…always one of the Wayans Brothers getting the pub, while DC got the shaft. Well watch out now, here comes Chappelle, and this vehicle is just the avenue he needs to become more mainstream.

His stuff is irreverent and sometimes pushy – but it has a real sense of tongue and cheek to it that just allows you to laugh at the absurdity of us all. I think that’s the point…red and yellow black and white we are all going to get jabbed by this show. No pulled punches, no apologies…and it’s why it is one of my “Hottest in 2004”. I think we are ready to laugh at the already blurred lines of race. And the sketch format allows the show to hit on many different subjects while remaining quick and never tedious. My favorite episode this year has been the “Race Draft”, where the Blacks drafted Tiger Woods and the Whites drafted Colin Powell who says…”I don’t think Colin Powell is white at all, can we do that?”

By the way…I scored Pig on the Bullsh*t Factor.