Customer Reviews

Bring the Pain [VHS]

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've been hoping to get my hands on a copy of "Bring The Pain" ever since college, when my friends and I would occasionally sit around getting drunk and listening to this performance on CD. Well, I finally have it, and even as a married man watching it sober in my apartment this DVD still cracks me up. Since this performance was recorded in the mid-'90's and it's now 2004 I was worried the material might seem dated, but Rock's insightful and colorful discussions of human failings are not only universal, but timeless. Much of what he discusses here may not be in the news anymore, but you could substitute any number of current happenings and his remarks would fit just as well. The man's animated style and frequent use of profanity are certanly entertaining, but beneath the shouted profanities is a razor-sharp wit backed by a lot of common sense and deep feel for irony. With his knack for cutting through rhetoric and hyprocrisy to get at the underlying truth, Rock could even be called one of America's leading black conservatives.

Rock bursts out of the gate with a bitingly hilarious bit on Marion Barry, musing that Barry managed to get reelected as mayor of Washington after being convicted of behavior that would get you fired from McDonald's. Discussing a slightly more respectable figure in the form of Colin Powell, Rock highlights the low expectations whites hold for blacks by pointing out that an educated black general can be praised merely for speaking well. This being the mid-90's, there was the obligatory bit on O.J., but Rock manages to go deeper than most comics in analyzing what the case said about the nature of fame and America's racial divide. The real high point of the performance, though, is Chris's discussion of the divisions within black America itself, exemplified by the distinction he draws between black people and, well, a word I can't use on this site. At any rate, Rock's penetrating look at this country's black underclass and its pathologies is hilarious, thought-provoking, and deadly accurate at the same time.

There a few more good bits here, including an off-color riff on platonic friendship, but it's Rock's look at racial issues that makes this DVD for me. He may occasionally drive home his points crudely, but Rock also advocates old-fashioned ideas like responsibility and self-respect which are all too lacking today, black or white. A true equal-opportunity offender, Rock deserves a shot from all thinking people.

Not being a fan of Chris Rock's brand of comedy, I initially watched this with an understandably less-than-enthusiastic attitude. However, after the first few minutes, I couldn't stop laughing at his annoyingly high-pitched and rough-sounding delivery, in addition to his raw and honest assessment of the world we live in today. He works the crowd like Eddie Murphy did in the early 80s, and hits on such controversial topics as O.J. Simpson, crack cocaine, religion, education, politics, and what has to be one of the funniest bits ever, capital punishment vs. the Tossed Salad Man. One word of warning, though: it's definitely raw, filled with every four-letter expletive in the dictionary spoken many times over, but if you can handle it, this is one of the most satisfyingly funny stand-up routines ever.

WOW!!! I'd first seen this in 1996. I believe it to be the best work Rock has done in stand-up. It was innovative and extremely funny. It dealt with social/political issues of that time on a true, but intelligently approached level. I haven't seen anything funnier since. If you are a Chris Rock fan... then you will love this..

In your face social commentary that is embedded in such truth, one has to laugh simply because we are all familiar with the situations about which he jokes about.

There was a time when it was considered too dangerous to teach a black man how to read. Fortunately, we've moved on somewhat since then but even now, a black man who is intelligent, well read and articulate can often be considered a challenging prospect even from within his own community and not just outside of it. Add humour to the mix though and that man is immediately seen as less of a threat. If he's wise he can use being seen as a funny man to have even more influence than a man who goes around straightfaced. A man with great comic timing and incisive wit can thus go on and spread his message with genius. That genius is the man known as Chris Rock.

I love black stand up as a whole but this dude is in a class of his own. By the time this 1996 performance was taped as an HBO special, he had honed his skill to perfection and ensured he would be known as more than the guy who got to play the butt of all the jokes in movies like "Boomerang", "CB4" and "New Jack City". No subject is sacred and no one is safe. Rock lays into Marion Barry (the former Mayor of Washington DC who was involved in a drug scandal and still managed to get re-elected. The show was taped at the Takoma Theatre in D.C. so the response of the audience was particularly interesting), O.J. Simpson, Colin Powell, and also talks about race relations, education, the crack epidemic, family values, sex & relationships and what he sees as the (still controversial) difference between `ni**as' and black people. Rock is totally irreverent, unrelenting and foul mouthed, while at the same time managing to remain intelligent, practical and sensitive with a central underlying moral core to his message. He may offend you but he'll make you laugh yourself silly while he's doing it AND make you think after he's done. Overall though, you know he's talking the truth and if that isn't genius then I don't know what is.

I first saw this on cable TV back in 2001 and nearly wet myself laughing. I got the DVD and watched it again a few months ago and even though I knew most of what was coming, I was still in hysterics. I can't wait to watch it again. The journalist, author and urban social commentator Nelson George interviews him for one of the extras, while the others are basically silly music videos starring Rock himself. I never saw any of these videos on MTV (they were probably too risqué anyway) and I don't recall any of the songs making it into the charts but they're still a hoot to see. All round great value for money. If you enjoy laughing and you haven't got this yet, you simply must.

This is one of top five funniest comedy works I've seen in my life. Chris Rock is smart, bold and honest. His comedy is as sharp as a blade, it cuts you deep and you keep coming back for more. That's the magic of Rock.
By the way: This is better than "Bigger and Blacker".

After I saw Bring The Pain, Chris Rock instantly became my favorite comedian. It is hilarious!! My stomach was aching so badly after the first time I saw it that I was trying not to laugh anymore...but it's impossible. Anytime I see the term "tossed salad" either on a menu or hear the words coming out of the waiter's mouth, my husband and I crack up laughing. I've been trying to find the DVD version of Bring the Pain, but I'm quickly realizing that it doesn't exist. I'm hoping that I'll find it soon.

Chris Rock's special "Bring the Pain" is an entertaining and hysterical take on life. His use of comical analogies and off-beat observations establishes him as one of the funniest stand-up comedians of his time. His recent Emmy award for this video skyrocketed his popularity and he now enjoys a greater portion of the public eye. His HBO show, "The Chris Rock Show", also a well deserved hit, shows this comic's brilliance. This special not only entertained me, but made me laugh so hard I cried. Chris Rock's stand-up comedy is well worth the price because his hilarity is gargantuan compared to the other comedians of today. END

I have never laughed so hard in my life... I laughed so hard I thought I was going to hurt myself. Every time I watch this I laugh out loud--even when I'm alone! You know, usually, once you know the jokes, things stop being so funny, but this NEVER stops being funny. You find yourself quoting Chris Rock in certain conversations, even making the facial expressions and the accent. His intelligent, and yet hilarious commentaries are always SO relevant with what's going on in the world. Chris Rock is the new funniest man alive! See also, Bigger and Blacker (now available). It's not quite as funny as this one, but still the same... (Warning, for those of you not familiar: he does use 4-letter words, so if that offends you, then don't watch. However, he really knows *how* to use them, so you might get an education ;o)

Chris Rock has always been great at what he does, but BRING THE PAIN is incredible. Back and forth across the stage he just brings it. You can't help but laugh and wait to see what he will say next. I was in college in 1996 when this first aired. My mother called me up and said you have to see this. She was so Right