Dave Chappelle: Killin' Them Softly

After multiple appearances with Comic Relief and a half hour special on HBO, Dave Chappelle returns to his hometown of Washington, D.C., to tape his first hour-long special. He spends the bulk of the time exploring racial differences and making cultural observations, with a smattering of political humour. Chappelle manages to navigate some sensitive material with a disarming charisma. He's not breaking any new ground for black comedians here, but he manages to make it seem fresh with his effortless charm. Some jokes (like the ones featuring the out-of-place baby) illustrate Chappelle's ability to paint a picture with words and gives a few clues into what it was that made his show so popular. The political bits and the casual sexism will make this feel a little dated, but there is enough here to appeal to a newer audience.

A Dave Chappelle stand-up comedy performance from Washington, DC.

Incredibly clever, subversive and irreverent and delivered with Dave Chappelle's incredible sense of timing and range of voices, this is stand-up comedy at its finest. Might well be the funniest comedy performance I've seen - only Robin Williams comes close.

Three years later Dave Chappelle turned his clever, racially-focused wit into a series, with Chappelle's Show. There he had even more room to demonstrate his talents, as he mixed stand up with set-orientated skits. Chappelle's Show turned out to be one of the funniest TV series of all time.

'Killin' Them Softly' was the first comedy special I watched from Dave Chappelle after his show blew up in a big way and I could barely stop laughing. It was three years before that moment would happen and he still exhibits a youthful energy as you see a bunch of parallels to what made his show so successful. Some people say the politics and sexism date the material here, but as an older person I get the references and mindset.

I'm preaching to the choir. This special is old news and if you're a fan you've already saw it. Too many spots to talk about, but I appreciated numerous moments of crowd interaction. Type of energy here is really affectuous. Two element missing from his later special 'For What It's Worth'. I can also say there is bits on race relations and racism to his show, but again unlike that later special it never got taken to far or lost me. There's no serious dips in quality, momentum or laughs.

He pulls voices, heavy on swearing, sexual content. I think what sets it apart is Dave is very relaxed and the material flows effortlessly. It never feels like he gets lost or has to draw a loose bridge to connect it all. If you've watched 'Chappelle Show' to death and don't find his newer stuff hitting as hard as you'd like go back to the past and revisit 'Killin' Them Softly'. You won't be disappointed.

From the looks of it, I would say despite Dave Chapelle's impressive movie career, he's been a stand-up comedian for quite some time now. Because when I saw this comedy special, I laughed really hard. Here, he discusses kids, the presidency, girls and some other miscellaneous things. He is also very poignant in his comedy delivery. This is one of the best comedy specials of the year, and it is from a guy who I never knew was a comedian (but hey, I thought the same of Denis Leary). So good job Chappelle, because you are funny. A+

I just saw this Dave Chapelle special and HBO and was pretty much laughing for the entire duration (about an hour) of the show. In it, he talks about a variety of subjects from race to police to women to politcs. His impersonations of different people, including Clinton are hysterical. IT is clear he is a bright guy with a lot of talent. Hope does more comedy in the future.