Day: September 28, 2008

Chris Rock’s new HBO special, Kill the Messenger, began with a bold statement, displaying the breadth of his popularity on his current stand-up comedy tour: 8 countries, 4 continents, 554,781 fans. Filmed in three venues — Johannesburg, South Africa; London, England; and New York City’s Apollo in Harlem — Rock is telling the world, and in turn, us viewers, that he is a global comedian. What he has to say about race and gender politics, as well as American politics, translates around the world. How many other American stand-up comedians can make that kind of claim? Doing so in black-tie (Johannesburg), a crisp monochromatic suit (London) and a shiny leather jacket (Harlem), Rock and his production team can show just how well it translates, as well have fun with comedy remixes, repeating phrases up to three times. I’m surprised they didn’t also try to capture some footage from Bonnaroo, where Rock performed for 65,000 music fans this summer in Tennessee, to show even more how broad his appeal has become. You can see this special again tonight and later on the various HBO channels (and predictably, someone already has uploaded it in eight parts onto YouTube). I had seen Rock officially debut this tour set 10 months ago in Las Vegas, as well as an early run-through of premises and ideas last summer in NYC. Much has changed in...