Customer Reviews

The Original Kings of Comedy [VHS]

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I'm going to start the review off with the obvious: this is not a movie, but rather a documentary on the Kings Of Comedy Tour. In other words, a stand-up comedy film. You're probably reading this and wondering "why would anybody sell a collection of comedy skits as a full-length feature film?" See the movie and you'll understand. While no doubt suited for television viewing (partly because they're all on BET), the experience in the theatre gives an overall impression of being there, actually watching Steve Harvey, DL Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer and Bernie Mac toss their routines live. As for the performers themselves, some of them are downright hilarious - I particularly like Steve Harvey and, of course Bernie Mac - while DL Hughley is kinda so-so, spending most of the time talking about panties and dissing audience members. But even the weaker performances survive because the performers are energetic and bristling with enthusiasm. This ends up making the material seem a lot funnier than it really is. I guarantee you'll find yourself laughing till you're crying over jokes that really aren't all that funny (like me as well as everyone else that was in the theatre). DL Hughley is no doubt decent overall, and Cedric the Entertainer has his shining moments, although as a whole they aren't really anything special. Emcee Steve Harvey and Bernie Mac, on the other hand, are awesome. Steve Harvey's material is actually funny to begin with (I LOVE the Titanic bit at the beginning), but a lot of it is inspiring as well. He manages to find humour in love, spirituality and family life without sounding blasphemous or disrespectful. Most importantly, he means every single word he says, and that connects with the audience all too well when talking about romance and love. As for Bernie Mac: THIS is the skit that makes the movie so good. Without a doubt the star of the show, Bernie talks rudely about his kids and his unique parenting techniques, and pokes fun at other parents. His subject matter can be a little risky, but he never comes through as disrespectful or snarky. Whereas Steve Harvey delivers his skits with pure honesty, Mac's charm comes from the fact that its obvious that not a single word of it is true. This allows him to explore territory that others may be afraid to. As a whole, this movie is highly recommended if you love to laugh. It is an entirely worthwhile way to kill two hours, and I can guarantee you'll leave the theatre (or television) with a gigantic smile on your face.

This film captures stand-up performances from comedians Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric The Entertainer and Bernie Mac, and is a non-stop laugh-fest in the highest sense of the term. This review is not going to be a very long one - to be rather honest. The humor, of course, revolves around many taboo subjects like racial stereotypes, sex, religion and other things - if you are easily offended by any of these things, I suggest you avoid this film like the plague, because it is no holds barred! A few of the many hilarious scenes that I consider personal favorites from each comedian:

(1). Steve Harvey does a pretty good job of mocking the characters in the Titanic film who choose to keep playing their violins amidst a major catastrophe. He later goes into detail about why he prefers "old-school" music; particularly old-school R&B, over the hip-hop and rap trends that seem to be preferred by the modern generation. He does an effective job of lambasting rappers, and is absolutely laugh-out-loud hilarious. I was practically in tears from laughing so hard at this. Needs to be seen to be believed.

(2). D.L. Hughley was hilarious too, but like some have pointed out, some of his routines came from other, earlier stand-up specials. Side note: If you can find a copy of his stand-up comedic special entitled "Going Home," pick it up. That performance I believe to be his funniest, and it leaves me rolling on the floor everytime.

(3). Cedric The Entertainer's humor was the least brash of all the four, and has more of a laid-back, subtle charm, which still manages to make you laugh. The whole break-dance scene was funny, as well as his "cruising into outer space" scene, his self-made "martial art style" scene, and others.

(4). Bernie Mac - good lord. He was without a doubt the craziest, most brash, most (messed)-up comedian in this set. Sadistic and intensely cathartic, even. It's only fitting that he would be the last performer. His routine was just a little too much for me - and still is - and I mean that in the best way possible. His takes on kids and how they get (or should get) punished, sex and orgasm, and the "stuttering" kid were just too much - not only was I laughing too hard, but my lungs began to hurt, I nearly lost my voice for a brief period, and I was nearly out of oxygen. The guy was too much! Saying that he cracked me up would be a HUGE understatement.

All in all, recommended for many who want (or need) a major laugh-fest. Sometimes, one of the best ways - if not the best way - to deal with unpleasant situations in life is to be able to laugh at them - as exemplified in this film. If you suffer from chronic asthma, heart disease, and/or are easily shocked - particularly by the things mentioned in the above paragraphs (including loads of profanity) - stay VERY far away from this - you will be digging yourself an early grave.

As you might have read from other reviews, this is not a movie rather than a stand up comedy film. I dare anyone to watch this and not find it funny. If you don't laugh, then you don't have a sense of humor at all. The show is about the concert tour of the same title that was the 2nd highest grossing tour of the year. Steve Harvey is the MC and provides his own touches of brillance throughout the show. His ability to relate to people on all walks of life is evident from the moment he takes the stage. He warms up the crowd for each comedian but the crowd doesn't need it, since you barely regain control from laughing so hard from the last joke you heard. D.L. Hughley is great in this, although I, personally, think that his set could have been alittle better. I had just seen his last comedy special before the movie, so I was alittle jaded. Next is Cedric the Entertainer. The man is awesome. The way the he accents his jokes with phyiscal style is brillant. To top off the show is Bernie Mac. Simply put, he steals the show. I could not stop laughing when he was on. To not own this DVD is a crime. I will be the first in line to get it when it arrives. You should do the same. I hope this helps.

The Original Kings Of Comedy are indeed,the true kings of the comedy world. They earned the title of world heavyweight comedians for good reasons. The #1 reason however, is their performances in this movie and their overall 2 year nationwide comedy tour. I've seen many live on stage standup comedy movies before (Martin Lawerence,Richard Pryor,Eddie Murphy etc...), but this one by far is the best. This film showcases the incredible talents of Cedric "The Entertainer", D.L. Hugley, Bernie Mac, & Steve Harvey at there very best. All 4 of these comedians can do individual shows with success ,but when you put them all together its just untouchable. I can not really say one comedian was better than the other because all 4 kings performed very well. Each comedian had his own special impact on the film. The only thing that could possibly make this movie any better would be if Chris Tucker or Chris Rock was a 5th member. Nonetheless,these 4 kings are so funny, you forget there are any other comedians in the business. If you love comedy and want to watch a fun show that will make you laugh til' your stomach hurts, then I suggest you see "The Original Kings Of Comedy". I know that it is a must for me to see this film again. I will get this movie on DVD the day it is released. This movie is straight up hilarious and outragously funny. Its just a good show to watch whether you're black or white. It just can't any get better than this.

I saw this movie soon after it was released, and went alone to it, as all my friends decided to ditch me there to go see The Cell. After we all came out of the theater, I was the only one pleased with their movie-going experience. Of course, comparing it to The Cell is impossible (and pointlessly stupid due to differences in genre), and it's always much more interesting to critique a film on its own merits.

Anyone expecting to see a typical Spike Lee joint in this film is probably disappointed from that aspect, as it plays out a little like a comedian's version of This Is Spinal Tap, except that these guys are actually talented. In fact, they're REALLY DARN GOOD. Each of the four comedians (Bernie Mac, Cedric the Entertainer, D.L. Highley, and Steve Harvey, in no particular order) has his own "segment" of the film, where he is able to be featured in their own style cutting loose and waxing comedic on nearly every facet of life. No matter how hard I tried, I was laughing out loud throughout the film (which made the other patrons of the theater laugh at me seeing the only white guy in the theater laughing harder than they were at jokes insulting white people, but the barbs were all TRUE! I can always spare a little bit of psychological stability <G> ). I have a personal favorite routine, but I am pretty sure Amazon won't let me talk about it without either censoring it or not publishing it, so I'll leave that at that.

If you want to look at it as being a 2-hour-long HBO Def Comedy Jam, so be it. But it's a damn good one, and one that anyone who has an affinity for good stand-up comedy should see, provided they have no problems with language that'd make Carlin gasp (well, maybe not...). However, please check your pride at the door, thank you.

Length:: 1:42 Mins

I don't watch that much stand up comedy but I am familiar with the Steve Harvey show and like Bernie Mac real well so I decided to give this a try. The show takes place in Charlotte, NC in February of 2000 and it was full of energy when these four guys took the stage. Here's a list of what all each guy talks about and my opinion about there segments
1. Steve Harvey
He has three segments, but in his first segment he talks about how he's proud to be a country boy and how they appreciate stuff better than city folks. Then he talks about the Carolina Panthers and goes on to poke fun at a player by the name of Rae Curruth and how stupid he was to plan out his escape. He ended the segment on the movie Titanic. This part I did find humorous. He complains about it being too long and if it was about blacks it wouldn't have lasted 15 minutes and demonstrated on a black person would've used their creativity in escaping the sinking ship by turning over a diner table and got on it.
Not bad but his next two segments were better.
D.L. Hughley
Hughley's segment contains poking fun at some of the people in the audience, black and white comparisons on job firings and special interests, and talk about relationships but in a kinky way. My favorite parts of his segments was on pumping gas. "Give me 52 cents on pump 1 please" and that bungy jumping was too much like lynching for blacks and that regular sh*t was all they need for entertainment and he spots a guy with blonde hair and tells that he looks like he got his ass whipped with a bottle of peroxide(I think I spelled that right).
Steve Harvey part II
There's only one part to this segment and that is music. He says that hip hop makes me sick because they don't sing about love, everyone has to have a mic, and rap concerts have too many instructions. My favorite part was where demonstrated a typical rap concert. "Everybody pump it up, wave your hands like you don't care, someone say Ho, somebody scream. Motherf---er for what? I paid 38.50, g--dammit you scream!" Then he tries to impersonate some of his favorite songs back in the day which was very entertaining.
Cedric the Entertainer
cedric says that the reason you don't hear about 6 or 7 black folks getting killed at one time is because they run. They don't ask why they're running, if you start running then dammit I'm gonna run too. Talks about black folks progressing in sports other than basketball. He does a good impressions of black folks playing hockey and being announcer for golf games. He says that blacks couldn't handle that kinda of job because they can't stay quiet for 30 seconds. Of course I'm a groan ass man slogan is always hilarous.
Steve Harvey III
Steve talks about going to church with an old lady named Sister O'Dale and she was the only reason he used to love to attend church because she cursed and some of her songs that she song at church which were theme songs on t.v.shows. I laughed so hard at this segment I had tears streaming down my face especially when gave a demonstration of sister o'dale seeing the offering plate coming around. "I'm sick of this sh*t, I've got bills in my m'fing house, you keep passing this S.O.B. by me, you're gonna f*ck around and come up short.
Bernie Mac
Bernie the most raunchy but most entertaining segment talks about how we need to punish kids like they did back in the day. Raising his brother's kids, opening up his day care center, and big momma. I loved when he talked about his future day care center. He says he will f-ck your kid up, the first 30 days are free and if you see a big knot on your kid's head it's because he took a hammer and slapped the f-ck out of them. I like how his body is weary and he can't satisfy his wife's sexual needs like he used to and if she had a problem with it she would have to get another man and that that 3 minutes is as long as he can give an organsm.
The show is pretty raunchy like I said, but if your open minded and have a good sense of humor, you should love this

Can I start by saying that Kings of Comedy totally changed my opinion of the comedians in it. Before watching this the only one of these guys that I found remotely funny was Cedric the Entertainer. However, this is prime example of what can be achieved when comedians are not restricted by WB, Fox or whatever mediocre network/cable channel they appear on.

Secondly, can I congratulate the guy from Baltimore that was honest enough to speak his mind. What he said needed to be said. I'm from England, but lived in the US for a couple of years. Reading his words reminded me why I left the US (believe it or not but race relations in England are much better than they are in the US).

In my opinion, he was just saying what the majority of White people think in the US anyway. During my stay there, being somewhat of a novelty (a black English guy, huh?) I was able to mix with all kinds of people / races and his sentiments ring loud and clear among the Caucasian population. I just wish that more black people could see how this person thinks. What he said was a blatant reminder that no matter what we do (as black people) most white people are inately racist and will never be able to get over that. After a week when black Hollywood finally got some respect at the Oscars his words should not be forgotten. It's at times like this when we black people start to think that times have changed. Well, quite honestly they haven't, and this guy has made that abundantly obvious.

He had the nerve to challenge someone to change his mind. My advice would be don't bother.

The Kings of Comedy had me laughing out loud so much that I got light headed from all the laughing. Steve Harvey and Bernie Mac are by far the funniest of the four. If you have seen DL Hughley's HBO special then you have seen most of his routine. Cedric the Entertainer must have had an off night, because he was not as funny as he was during the live the performance I saw here in Dallas.

I am waiting for them to do a part two with Damien Williams as the host. All four men have talent and the ability to engage the audience. Bernie Mac had me laughing non-stop at his routine.

The extra's in the DVD make it worth the price. They have cut scenes that are funny, and they have a music video #1 Stunner included on the DVD. They also have the Kings talking about the reason they got into comedy and how hard it was at the beginning of their careers. One of the best comedy DVD's on the market. Watching this DVD will help you to understand why the Kings of Comedy is the highest grossing Comedy tour ever.

Being black and British I wasn't quite sure how good this might be. I thought that Martin was funny but probably too long.Tommy Davidson was funny but too short. Seeing this in the cinema house I found this film was long but not not long enough - if it had been any longer I'm sure I would have ended up wetting myself with the amount of side splitting humour on show here! I was especially looking forward to seeing Bernie Mac doing stand up as I'd only seen him in mostly comic roles - "Friday" and "Above the Rim" stand out in my memory. Of course, D.L Hughley was known to me from BET's Comic View and I initially thought if he's first on stage the others can't be better than him. How wrong could I be! Steve Harvey compered the show superbly setting the atmosphere (if you know your soul music you really are in for a thrill too) - each subsequent comedian displayed high quality comedic genius. Despite watching this with my homies (which always is a catalyst for having a good laugh) this show stood up on its own merits - I have never laughed so much with tears in my eyes. And it's a good thing that I had 3 or 4 seats to sprawl over. By the way, I'm known as the most serious one of my friends but even I came out of the show with my body wracked with pain! Can't wait for this DVD to be released in the UK. C'mon Amazon.co.uk get your act together please :->