Inside The Acto’s Studio: Dave Chappelle – DVD Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews


Available at Amazon.com

Director

Jeff Wurtz

Cast

James Lipton
Dave Chappelle

DVD Release Date: November 7, 2006
Rating: PG
Running Time: 150 Minutes

The Movie

Dave Chappelle is a very versatile individual. He has played numerous individuals in countless movies and not all of them have been in comedic roles as many would most likely assume. He has starred in Half Baked, Con Air, You’ve Got Mail, and Robin Hood: Men In Tights. And sure some were bit parts while others gave him a lot more screen time, but he made the most out of every second we saw him.

He has done stand-up comedy many times, and it’s on TV from time to time. If you’d like to definitely catch it, you can go out and purchase one or two of his routines on DVD. Dave covers a wide variety of topics and like all comedians, gets a lot of serious messages across through the medium of comedy.

Then he showed up on Comedy Central in what has given him the most success ever, “Chappelle’s Show.” I’m going to be completely honest here and I’ll probably get some hate mail for this”¦but I hate that show. I find none of it funny and just don’t enjoy watching it whatsoever. And don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched a good bit of it on my own to give it a chance, and then I’ve watched even more of it because I always had friends wanting to watch it. But I have never enjoyed a single solitary minute of it.

Its Dave Chappelle’s stand-up comedy and movie acting ability that makes me enjoy his work, and therefore I enjoyed watching him interact with James Lipton. From moment one, Dave makes me laugh and continues to do so the entire length of the show simply by telling his life story. Some great background information on his family and how he got started in show business make for some extremely entertaining stories.

Dave also makes it a point to discuss his interaction with drugs as a teenager and how they fit into his life. All stemming of course from a combination of work, school, family and the racism that was everywhere as he grew up in Washington D.C. It all finally comes into when he disappeared for a while and headed over to Africa. He had left his show without notice, jaunted over to a completely different place, and left tons of money on the table by not having another contract with Comedy Central to go find out some things about life and himself. After all this drama”¦he finally came clean on Inside The Acto’s Studio.

Dave Chappelle shows just how educated and extremely articulate he really is. Lipton asks his usual questions about his parents, drugs, how he got started, and what inspires Dave to do what he does in his life. Sometimes on Acto’s Studio, the guest stars just ramble on and end up turning the show very boring. I have seen a lot of episodes of the show, and seen my fair share of gems and even more duds. But seeing the comedy, inspiration, heartfelt compassion, and determination of Dave Chappelle makes it very easy to see why this was an Emmy-nominated episode.

The Video

The show is shown in Full Frame and transfers very well. All looks well.

The Audio

Heard in Dolby Digital Stereo and it’s all that is needed. Its two men talking the whole time with a few clips thrown in every now and then, so not much more is required for it to sound good.

Special Features

Great Moments That Didn’t Make The Cut – Deleted scenes dealing with his first audition, Men In Tights, and Def Comedy Jam. Some great clips, I don’t see why they didn’t leave them in.

The Inside Pulse

For a DVD, there really isn’t much to it especially in the way of extras. But for the stories you will hear, it’s well worth the purchase. James Lipton is always enjoyable to watch and knows just what questions to ask and how to ask them. Dave Chappelle”¦no matter if he is purposely being his funny self or telling a traumatic moment from his life, you’re going to be glued to the screen. I highly recommend picking this DVD up and hope we get more Acto’s Studio soon.

The DVD Lounge’s Ratings for Inside The Acto’s Studio: Dave Chappelle
CATEGORY
RATING
(OUT OF 10)
THE SHOW

9
THE VIDEO

7
THE AUDIO

7
THE EXTRAS

3.5
REPLAY VALUE

6
OVERALL
7
(NOT AN AVERAGE)