Genres:
Film
TV & Radio
Release Date: 01/01/2001
Sound: DD2
Run Time:
Distributor/Studio: Shout! Factory
In the vein of such contemporaries as
Martin Lawrence,
Eddie Griffin and
Norm McDonald, African American comic
Dave Chappelle launched himself as a stand-up act, then segued into movies with turns in such
comedies as
Mel Brooks's
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) (as one of the
Merry Men Rappers),
Eddie Murphy's
The Nutty Professor (1996) (as a standup who ruins the title character's date, and is then tortured by his alter ego), and
Nora Ephron's
You've Got Mail (as
Tom Hanks's wisecracking assistant). As the new millennium dawned,
Chappelle established himself on
Crank Yankers,
Comedy Central's gutterbucket answer to
The Jerky Boys, as one of the recurring prank phone callers. The success of this turn induced the network to give
Chappelle his own
sketch comedy program,
The Dave Chappelle Show, in which he used a cutting, acerbic wit and keen insights to examine racial attitudes and African American icons, such as
Prince and
Rick James. Then, the comedian suddenly and unexpectedly dropped out of the limelight, abandoned the program and took a pilgrimage to Africa. In
Inside the Actor's Studio: Dave Chappelle, taped in early 2006, the talented comedian sits on the infamous stage opposite 12+ year series host
James Lipton and discusses his life, his career accomplishments, and what he learned from his African journey. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
;)
