Chris Rock: One Funny Motherf***er
On Saturday night of Labor Day weekend this year, I joined my dad in Vegas for a Teppan Yaki dinner at Caesar's Palace followed by the comic arsenal of Chris Rock.
I've admired Chris' expletive-laced humor for many years, but not for its vulgar content. When I first saw his HBO special "Bigger and Blacker", I realized that Chris has got his finger planted firmly on the pulse of America and seamlessly translates the current state of union into side-splitting humor. From his stance on the OJ trial to his famous "civil war among black people" and the current candidate race for presidency, Chris Rock delivers his spin, taking the mundane nature of any topic and unleashes its comic value upon his audience.
Let's face it, if all you want to hear is bad language without really saying much, go see Andrew "Dice" Clay's act. I used to love Dice but then when I heard Chris Rock, who actually has something to say still delivering the language I found funny from Dice, I changed sides. My generation has seen some of the worlds' greatest comics in their prime, who have now passed on. Of course, the immediate example that comes to mind is George Carlin. George's rant-style comedy was so accurate and angry in its delivery at times that he appeared to know something about everything, and know how to fix what was wrong with it. I think Chris Rock is the best comic out right now, the new Carlin for my generation.
"Comic Genius" is not a title that is appointed randomly, but I think it's one that Chris has earned over time. Of course, this kind of genius is much different that that of the collective group of scientists that sent us to the moon, but it takes a kind of genius to use the events of the world and show us all the humor that lingers beyond the surface. Hats off to you, Chris Rock, for keeping us all smiling and being the anti-depressant for the world.
I've admired Chris' expletive-laced humor for many years, but not for its vulgar content. When I first saw his HBO special "Bigger and Blacker", I realized that Chris has got his finger planted firmly on the pulse of America and seamlessly translates the current state of union into side-splitting humor. From his stance on the OJ trial to his famous "civil war among black people" and the current candidate race for presidency, Chris Rock delivers his spin, taking the mundane nature of any topic and unleashes its comic value upon his audience.
Let's face it, if all you want to hear is bad language without really saying much, go see Andrew "Dice" Clay's act. I used to love Dice but then when I heard Chris Rock, who actually has something to say still delivering the language I found funny from Dice, I changed sides. My generation has seen some of the worlds' greatest comics in their prime, who have now passed on. Of course, the immediate example that comes to mind is George Carlin. George's rant-style comedy was so accurate and angry in its delivery at times that he appeared to know something about everything, and know how to fix what was wrong with it. I think Chris Rock is the best comic out right now, the new Carlin for my generation.
"Comic Genius" is not a title that is appointed randomly, but I think it's one that Chris has earned over time. Of course, this kind of genius is much different that that of the collective group of scientists that sent us to the moon, but it takes a kind of genius to use the events of the world and show us all the humor that lingers beyond the surface. Hats off to you, Chris Rock, for keeping us all smiling and being the anti-depressant for the world.
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