Movie
Name/Year: Dave
Chapelle: Sticks and Stones (2019)
Genre: Comedy
Length: 65 minutes
Rating: TV-MA
Production/Distribution: Netflix
Director: Stan Lathan
Writer: Dave Chappelle
Actor: Dave Chappelle
Blurb
from IMDb: Dave
Chappelle takes on gun culture, the opioid crisis, and the tidal wave of
celebrity scandals in a defiant stand-up special filmed in Atlanta.
Selina’s Point of View:
I
heard that this comedy special was controversial, but I think that was an
understatement.
My
personal sense of humor is versatile. I can enjoy the innocent punny stuff, but
I can also go really dark. So, the rumors about how controversial Sticks
and Stones was didn’t make me nervous. No one can argue Dave
Chappelle’s timing, or iconic persona, so I was looking forward to seeing this.
I
wasn’t five minutes in before I realized how on point the rumors were.
He
went beyond dark. The controversy started right out of the gate and didn’t let
up at all. There was no taking a breath between horrifying subjects.
The
thing is, and it’s something critics seem to have forgotten, Chappelle is
genius and more self-aware than most people on this planet. This is a man that
walked away from a profitable show so that he could travel to South Africa and
live a life less in the spotlight. He canceled his own show because executives
wanted him to sanitize his work and he refused to give in on pressure.
Now
we’re living in a time where a single tweet from a decade ago can get a
comedian ‘canceled’.
I
think that Chappelle purposely went as far over the line as he possibly could.
I’m almost positive the tone of his show is directly related to how ridiculous
– and cherry-picking – cancel culture can be.
I
understand the reviews. Normally, I see a large difference between the critic
and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes as a failure on a critic’s part to fully
consider the entertainment value of a project. In this case, I consider it a
success on Chappelle’s part. The 99% audience score comes from the
understanding of why he was pushing the limit so far. It’s an appreciation of
his rebellion.
The
33% critic score, however, doesn’t surprise me. The dark places Chappelle
touched on, were examined through an even darker perspective. There was no way
in hell that critics were going to enjoy it. They failed to see the satire in
it, or just had a stick a little too close to puncturing their lower intestine.
I’m
not going to lie, there were several jokes that fell flat with me. My sense of
humor just doesn’t go to those places – but I’m not entirely sure I was the
demographic he was speaking to. It’s hard to appreciate a joke you just can’t
relate to. That said, I honestly see Sticks and Stones as more
of a statement on cancel culture than a comedy special anyway.
It
comes down to the fact that if a smaller, less iconic, less admired, comic had
made any single one of the comments that Chappelle made – the collective
‘audience’ would seek to ‘cancel’ them. Chappelle knows this, and I think he’s
using that knowledge to shine a light on the problem.
Nobody
cancels Chappelle. He’s long-since proved to Hollywood and the world that he’s
the only one who can say if he’s cancelled. I think this is his reminder to
other comedians that they can take the same control.
Cat’s Point of View:
In
the spirit of disclosure, I didn’t go into this viewing entirely blind. This is
mostly due to the fact that you can’t avoid hearing people talk about this
particular show unless you’re not plugged into any sort of media outlet
whatsoever. The family-friendly radio talk-show that my daughter & I listen
to as I take her to school in the mornings was even talking about this polarizing
program.
Frankly,
I am on board with what one of the radio personalities said – she watched about
15 minutes of the special and then bailed. Had I not been watching Sticks & Stones for a review, I
would have responded similarly. I didn’t like it. I didn’t find it funny for
about 98% of the show.
I
did, however, find the epilogue entertaining. My score for this production is
as ‘high’ as it is because of that alone.
Many
of Dave Chappelle’s (Crank Yankers,
Chi-Raq, A Star is Born) topics were in poor taste, relatively insensitive,
and seemingly delivered for shock value. That being said, I am not going to be
one of the many that are railing against the comedian and Netflix. If he wants
to use offensive language, make light of serious topics, and flaunt the taboo –
that’s his prerogative and right under the First Amendment. He makes a point
during the special. If you’re watching the special on Netflix, you ‘clicked his
face.’ It’s a choice, and with the thousands of titles available on the
streaming service, you can simply choose to avoid the show like the plague if
you are offended by it.
Do
I agree with his position on all of the topics he discussed? Not particularly. Would I let my daughter
watch this with me? Absolutely not. (The TV-MA rating here is a well-warranted
hard R equivalent at the very least.) Should it be pulled from Netflix? No. If
we start censoring stand-up comedy for controversial content, we might as well
try to sanitize all the horror movies, too. A very silly spiral begins from
there.
At
the same time, he did make a few valid points on topics such as how swift we’ve
become, creating a new cultural norm, to go dig up old mistakes and fling them
at high-profile public personalities as if they define them in current context.
I can’t tell you how glad I am that social media – and really the full-blown
internet in general – wasn’t a thing when I was growing up. At the same token,
the point is also valid how the public has a bit of a double standard – because
not everyone with past or even current issues gets dirt thrown in their face
and pitchforked mobs.
I
think the title of the special sets it up well. Sticks and Stones, from the old
nursery rhyme. It’s both Chappelle’s dare to his audience to give him their
worst if they’re offended – because the words will bounce off of him, and a reminder
about that very choice I mentioned before – to watch the show at all. He’s
throwing some sticks and stones. This special’s audience needs to dodge them,
or they’ll feel the hurt. Ultimately, however, this production won’t end the
world - in other words, no bones are really being broken here.
Stepping
down from my soap-box, all I can say is that while I will not be recommending
this program, I can only hope that it provokes some constructive conversation
and awareness regarding some of the topics within Chappelle’s content.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score –
30%
Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score – 99%
Metascore – None
Metacritic
User Score None
IMDB
Score –
8.6/10
CinemaScore – None
P.S. – Pictures are shown during the
credits.
P.S.2
– If
you let the credits play out without interruption, a 23 minute-long epilogue
will automatically play. In the credits from this post-credit Easter egg
special, photos are displayed featuring people discussed during the epilogue.
Trust
the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4/5
Trust
the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3/5
Movie
Trailer:
