Chris Rock: Never Scared

I've always been a fan of Chris Rock's humor, but this time he really pulls out all the stops in his no-holds-barred stand up comedy special which aired last spring on HBO. Gleefully making fun of rap music over the years, the Jacksons, Kobe Bryant, R. Kelly, Krispy Kremes, strippers "paying themselves for college and giving a smart lap dance while wearing clear heels," the dynamics of relationships between men and women, he also makes some very strong (but humorous) points when talking about how the government advertises approved medicines while maintaining a hypocritical attitude on drugs and weapons, and he drives the issue home as to the politics of wealth which draws a clear difference between Whites and Blacks (or non whites). Hilarious within an inch of its life, CHRIS ROCK'S NEVER SCARED is an excellent 90 minutes and maintains his own status as a strong comic presence.

After a four year absence from stand-up,Chris Rock still know how to make the audience laugh. He is very brilliant and is up-to-date with the social issues that's going on today. He is now a father,and I don't think anyone can say that he is truly happy about marriage because he describes a lot of stress-related situations towards the matrimony. But a lot of comics hide their pain through their jokes and he does in a way that the audience can relate. Chris admits he is 39 ("that's right New Jack City was a long time ago")and still enjoy how hip-hop has evolve through a different art. He has a youthful intelligent outlook on life and gain respect from people of all ages. This is not his best stand-up but Chris will sure leave you in tears. A 8.5 out of 10 as compared to Bigger and Blacker.

Chris Rock is a poet and a preacher, to watch him in full swing delivering his chisled lines is always wonderful.

If you've seen Bring the Pain and Bigger and Blacker, you'll know exactly what to expect as Rock pretty much continues where he left off, covering the same ground of politics, relationships, the black condition and his interpretation of celebrity crimes.

His delivery is smooth, forceful as ever and very confident. This particular act falls down when he tries to discuss Iraq. Not intending to make a joke but a serious point, he literally wastes 10 minutes of airtime not being funny. I think this may be in homage to his Hero Bill Hicks. (Very spookey listening to BH discuss Iraq 10-15 years ago today)

Watch Bring the Pain, then Bigger and Blacker and then if you have time watch this one.

For his fourth special for HBO (third full-length), Chris Rock returns to Washington, D.C. Rock's grown a little since the last we saw him. His delivery resembles that of a preacher's more than ever before, with more inflection in his speech and the increased use of repetition. While his previous specials contained some casual sexism and mild misogyny, Rock's now confronted with the birth of his daughter, which one thinks may challenge some of his old viewpoints. Sadly, there seems to be little change in his archaic views on relationships or his often combative approach to women. Fortunately, Rock handles politics and cultural commentary with a more progressive viewpoint, adding his own spin on the issues without fear of crossing any lines. On the issue of pharmaceuticals and illegal drugs, Rock's razor-sharp insights confront some hypocritical truths. Rock's support of gay marriage is a welcome development, even if he does make marriage about as appealing as getting waterboarded. Rock's charm and charisma does a fair bit to overcome some narrow mindedness, being able to land jokes that would be groan-inducing by other comics. A mixed bag of material with a million dollar delivery.

Chris Rock is a very smart comedian, but he forgets something about what made Bigger and Blacker and especially Bring the Pain funny- he then ONLY brought the jokes, not applause lines. A good deal of what comes out in his latest special, Never Scared, is funny, but a good lot of it doesn't strike up the rousing, even enormous laughs that came out of some of his classic bits (i.e. N****ers and Black People, Tossed Salad Man, the Columbine/Bill Clinton riff from 99). He's on fire in spurts, and that's what makes the 90 minutes worth watching, as he does have some great stuff here and there, such as when he attacks celebrities (The Jackson family, R. Kelly, wealth and rich in the black community "Rims- they spinnin' and spinnin' and spinnin'"), describes the bad parts about marriage, and so on. If only some bits wouldn't drag in so many parts to little laughs as opposed to bigger ones....this being said, after seeing it more times on HBO (it pops up a lot depending on the time you might be up at night), some of the lines work much funnier, especially the part about defending rap music and what it's like when one couple meets the "perfect" couple. A-