These projects have three components. Making the studio audience laugh. If they do, we are presumed to. Touching us in some way that matters. That's indicated by laughter but depends on deeper connections, usually with standup measured as "insight."
And then there's the film-related skills used to convey these two. In this case, they are amateurish, but it hardly matters. That's because this man has no talent for this sort of thing. He DOES make his audience laugh, but that uses a simple strategy: talk about things that are slightly outside the normal discourse: smelly vagina's and such. The audience titters, prebonded and rebonded. Black performers get a free ride for the first three- quarters of the effort when among black audiences because he belongs, so far as he establishes his bona fides.
But the question for you, dear reader is whether this will matter to you, today, in its video form. And I suspect for nearly everyone the answer is no. Its not just that this is bad, but there is so much better. I'm talking about Chris Rock.
Richard Pryor invented this form. Lawrence tries it and fails; Rock masters it. Its a s simple game: Gather a group who has ethnic identity, consisting of mainly stereotypes imposed and self-generated. Start out each joke sequence inside those stereotypes. Accept them, grow them, validate and celebrate them and then slyly turn the tables, showing how thin and ridiculous they are. Then segue into another set of stereotypical characteristics that seems to resolve this, or perhaps merely distract and start again.
Rock is essentially perfect in this. Clearly there was some conscious thought in this, and some professional writers. But it all revolves around intuitive timing.
I dare you to watch the two comics one after another. One is demeaning, the other intelligent and enobling.
Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.
