Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Dave Chappelle has the talent for being a good stand-up comedian. His humor is perfect to entertain you for an hour of laughter. Not only his mimics but also his different voices make this show pleasant to watch. Of course most of the humor, when performed by a black artist, has some racial focus points but that makes it funny and understandable. Anybody from any race knows about the difference of approach by the police to a specific race, it's not a secret, there are differences. Differences that shouldn't been but the police, certainly in America, is just biased and unfair, full of prejudices. Making humor out of it is the best way to deal with it, to mock them. Killin' Them Softly by Dave Chappelle is funny, the kind of humor that I like.

I believe Richard Pryor to be the best stand-up comic of all-time (closely followed in the social-critic realm by Bill Hicks and George Carlin), but Dave Chappelle is promising to be a worthy successor. This HBO special from 2000 has achieved something of a cult status on peer-to-peer networks since its airing, especially in audio form, and as such has gained even more popularity since Chappelle's venture into Comedy Central's "Chappelle's Show" (which is finishing its third and apparently final season right now).Looking back, I find this to be even funnier than his comedy show. Whereas his (hilarious) sketch show can become a bit repetitive at times and is almost always dealing with racial stereotypes and such, "Killin' Them Softly" touches on everything - beginning with blacks and whites ("DC has changed!"), moving on to crime, then television shows, and of course marijuana.My personal favorite bit has got to be Chappelle's observations on children's entertainment. He remarks how Pepé Le Pew is practically a rapist and encourages children to "take the pussy(cat)" and how racist "Sesame Street" was. ("Yeah, Oscar! You're a grouch." - "I live in a trash can! What do you expect!") Don't forget The Count: "I know a pimp when I see one!" To be honest I've found Chappelle's television show to become a bit stale sometimes (even though I'm a huge fan of it) but I was blown away - his stand-up comedy is even better. It's rare that I find myself laughing out loud at comedy acts, but even without watching him on stage, his vocal performance is gut-busting. The 911 phone call bit is classic.I don't want to discredit Richard Pryor and say this is funnier, but if you listen to some of Pryor's older stuff, Chappelle is touching on the same issues as he did in the 1960s and '70s and is, at times, actually doing it even funnier. Of course, Chappelle has some way to go before matching Pryor's iconic status or even his later fusion of outrageous comedy and social satire in the mid-'70s through the early '80s (which surpasses the stuff here), but those comparing him to Pryor have a reason to do so.

In addition to being famous for its hit movies, and engrossing original series, HBO is known for its fantastic comedy specials. Perhaps this is because the specials are allowed to exceed one hour, and are completely uncensored. Whatever the reason may be, HBO knows good comedy, and knows how to pick their performers. They often choose well-established comedians to perform. Because of this fact, I was shocked to learn that Dave Chapelle, a somewhat unknown for his comedy, was getting his own HBO special. Another shocking fact for me was that, when I actually saw the performance, I was blown away by how funny it was. After that, I was immediately a Dave Chapelle fan. This is without a doubt one of the greatest comedy specials that I have ever seen. It is up there with Dana Carvey's "Critics Choice", George Carlin's "Complaints and Grievances," Carlin's "You're All Diseased," Robin Williams "Live on Broadway," and a select few episodes of Comedy Central Presents on my all time favorite comedy specials. This hilarious special has a wide range of jokes, from commentary on the presidency, to a great bit about Sesame Street. It was this special that prompted me to give Chapelle show a chance in its first season. Much to my delight, the show was as good as "Killin' Them Softly," and had a similar style to the HBO special. I ABSOLUTELY recommend this special to anyone who likes Chapelle Show, and visa versa. It is comedy at its finest. A well deserved 10/10.

Not bad, but not nearly as good as his later work, especially the TV show on Comedy Central. "Undercover Brother" is when he really broke out and became ridiculously funny. In this one he seems nervous, not completely on top of the crowd as he seems to be in the studio bits of his show. Appears to be pulling punches a bit, even -- definitely not like what he does on the show.Still, some of the funniest stuff out there, and like his fellow genius Chris Rock not nearly as egregiously foulmouthed as others like Eddie Griffin."Sesame Street" bit alone is worth the price of rental -- I see the Count in a whole new light.