The Age of Spin
Deep in the Heart of Texas
Written by: Dave Chappelle
Directed by: Stan Lathan
Starring: Dave Chapelle
Rating: TV-MA
Plot
The first two of Dave Chappelle's three comedy specials. These two were previously recorded, unreleased comedy specials produced by Chappelle. The third will be made specifically for Netflix and released at a later date.
Verdict
Dave Chappelle is a master at stand-up comedy. From the structure, to the set-up, and most importantly the punch lines, these specials are great. I give The Age of Spin the edge. I found it funnier and more introspective. Deep in the Heart of Texas felt too dated, and was raunchier. It's still one of the best specials on Netflix.
Watch it.
Review
While a lot of people liked the second more, calling it classic Dave, I really liked the first. It's introspective with a structure that infuses chapter breaks, and a callback to end it that I didn't see coming and is just amazing. The Cosby jokes were hilarious, with a masterful build up.
Watching some of Netflix's recent comedy specials, I forget what great comedy sounds like. Dave Chappelle manages to be funny and intelligent while still keeping it real. When he recounts the story of getting pulled over, he's confidant he'll get out of it because he's Dave Chappelle. When he sees his buddy performing a sobriety check, he admits he was worried like anyone else, "What is going to happen to me?"
The first fifteen minutes is funnier than any other comedy special I've seen on Netflix. With The Age of Spin, he states up front he's going to talk about the four times he met O.J. Simpson, the Juice if you know the game. These act as breaks for Dave to tackle new subjects. Both of these specials were filmed previously. Making a Murderer, O.J. Simpson TV dramas, and Bill Cosby are dated references, but it works better than his second special which includes Ray Rice and Paula Deen jokes.
He talks about making up movie ideas, like a Texan super hero that has an unfortunate way of activating his powers.
It's hard to do fresh Cosby jokes, but Dave sets it up by talking about what Cosby meant to him, comedians, and America. He keeps building the joke with the sheer number of Cosby allegations, calling him the Top Gun of sexual assault. You've got to hear it.
The call back to close the first special is simply amazing. I didn't see it coming, and I probably should have, but that's how clever Chappelle is.
His curtain call was a neat touch. "Sorry Juice, my career's too flimsy to survive a picture with you."
The second special talked about the banana peel thrown at him during a show, and later a story about a snowball that put Dave in the position of deciding the future of young white boys.
He mentions Donald Sterling, Ray Rice, and Paula Deen, speculating about just how racist Sterling must be.
He's got a raunchy extended joke through the middle before telling a story about his son getting into a fight at school.
It's great to have new Dave Chappelle comedy specials. I can't wait for the third one.
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