DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY isn't really a concert film

I'm not much of one for concert films. I've never even been able to get through Scorsese's THE LAST WALTZ, and Marty's my boy. There's something about films based on music that just doesn't translate to a visual medium for me. Often times the cinematography of these films seems to be about the ephemera of the moment, the clanging of a cymbal or the vibration of a guitar chord. It's something momentary, and doesn't really give much to think on. Ultimately, I find a lot of these films boring.

So what happens when an uber-visualist like Michel Gondry tackles the medium? Nothing world-shattering. DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY is too long and steadily loses momentum, like a marathon runner that starts too fast and ends up limping across the finish line.

The film isn't really about anything: there's a vague the-healing-power-of-music thing going on underneath some of the scenes, there's a bunch of the-curse-of-fame stuff with Chappelle and Lauryn Hill, and some sort of commentary on community and giving back, but the film isn't really about any of these things. It jumps all over the place, from Chappelle organizing the event, to running through rehearsals, to handing out tickets to white people, to the actual show and then back again. The fragmented timeline is very distracting, as just when you're getting into some really good music, we're back to a ten-minute segment on some hippies who live in the area. It's like Gondry isn't content to just document the show, he's got to make this film about more than the music. And while I welcome the attempt, I'm ultimately frustrated by the movie's split focus.

This film would have been infinitely better if it was presented in a chronological fashion, from Chappelle organizing the show through to it's triumphant conclusion. It would have given us a thematic throughline to follow, but instead the film is all chopped up and the message is lost. Part of the problem seems to be that the show might have been a bit of a dud. It's clear that much of the afternoon was drenched in rain, and that there were technical issues throughout the day. It may be that there just wasn't enough good concert footage to fully use.

DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY is a concert film that desperately tries to be more than just a concert film, and fails at being either.