I'm not very poltiical onstage, but Chris Rock's "Bring The Pain" is the funniest hour of standup i have ever seen, 20 years after its debut, and got me hooked on comedy more than anyone other than the '80s NBC days of Letterman:
Just so it doesn't get buried in this blog post, here's the link to the entire special:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJFS5AFcNtw
When Chris debuted this special on HBO in 1996, he was taking one potentially last swing at greatness. He had left "SNL" a few years before for "In Living Color," only to find it canceled within weeks. His first movie, "CB4," had bombed (he's strangely the star of two of the only 5 movies i've ever walked out on, "CB4" and "Down to Earth") and his only recourse was to go back to standup and crush it on HBO.
He traveled to all 50 states, i heard, during his practice tour getting ready for the "Bring the Pain" taping. He then wound up performing in front of an all-black audience in Washington, DC, unabashedly asking the audience how they voted back in Marion Barry, a convicted crackhead, as their mayor. Along the rest of the hour, he also daringly dissected the OJ Simpson trial, racial tensions in America, the presidential possibilities of Colin Powell and much much more.
I had never seen anything like it. It was jaw-dropping, shockingly funny, gasp-inducing and incredibly inspirational. It came at just the right time, as i was struggling to find my own voice onstage and kept me going as an exciting piece of provocation as well as being incredibly entertaining. I recall taping it and watching the entire special again immediately after again, and like 5 times that week. Certain moments, like about Marion Barry and Colin Powell, i kept rewinding over and over again, laughing til my sides hurt and i simply couldn't take anymore.
I had never seen anything like it. It was jaw-dropping, shockingly funny, gasp-inducing and incredibly inspirational. It came at just the right time, as i was struggling to find my own voice onstage and kept me going as an exciting piece of provocation as well as being incredibly entertaining. I recall taping it and watching the entire special again immediately after again, and like 5 times that week. Certain moments, like about Marion Barry and Colin Powell, i kept rewinding over and over again, laughing til my sides hurt and i simply couldn't take anymore.
It's NSFW, yet the kind of thing that should get you reported or criticized. Everyone knows funny.
Chris Rock is about the funniest man alive and needs to hit us with a new special before the election. We'll see!
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