Rating: 
Summary: So Funny!!!
Review: I loved watching "The Original Kings of Comedy"! I don't think there is one thing that I didn't like about it. The only thing I would change is the length of the each comedian's segment. I wish that they could have had more time because I definitely wanted to hear more from them! Bernie Mac and Cedric the Entertainer really stood out with their routines, and Steve Harvey made a point to take everyone back to the day with his nostalgia and singing of songs from the 70's. This is definitely a comedy film to watch! You won't be disappointed at all!
Rating: 
Summary: Garbage
Review: As a stand-up comedian, I love stand-up in all its forms and will give anything a chance. My girlfriend gave this to me for my birthday and I was excited as I had heard good things about this video. I like the Steve Harvey Show along with Cedric but not the Bernie Mac show or the Hughleys. I have seen Hughley do stand up previously and only remembered that he cussed a lot. That is an understatement. After watching the so-called "kings" all I got out of it was that these guys know their four letter words. The only time I laughed was during a couple of spots in Cedric's act. He was also the cleanest comic. If you took the cusswords out of most of these guys' acts their sets would be reduced to about 5 minutes a piece. This proves they had no material whatsoever. I'm white but I love black comedy. One of my best friends is a black comedian. If this was to be a gathering of great black comics it should have been Sinbad, Louis Ramey, Dave Chapelle, Rondell Sheridan, and Mark Curry. Bottom line, don't buy or rent this video!
Rating:
Summary: What the...
Review: I laughed so hard that I was on the verge of hyperventilation. I was in tears for most of the movie. I cannot wait to see it again...and I will, because I was laughing so hard throughout the movie that I am sure that I missed some funny stuff. Go see this movie! It completely rocks! See it with an empty bladder...and leave those bad kids at home. Better yet, leave them at the Bernie Mac child-care center, where the first three months are free!
Rating:
Summary: A negative 10 stars
Review: This is exactly what's wrong with black america today; the notion that we would support and go to these modern day minstrel shows where four house negroes would make fun of our culture(black culture) is very disturbing indeed. Is this what black comedy has come to? There was a time in our history that we would frown at such things, but there is no more pride left in our race, which this is the exact reason why we laugh. Comedians like Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx didn't make us look bad when they did comedy, and now their legacies have been decimated with this video and these men and others like them. If you are lack and have any pride in our culture, not only would you not buy this album, but drive them and others like them out of the buisness!!
Rating:
Summary: The Kings are Worthy of the Crown...
Review: African-American comics have traditionally had a difficult time breaking into the mainstream. For every Eddie Murphy or Richard Pryor, there are dozens of performers like Robin Harris and Joe Torry whose sharp, biting humor flies just below the radar of many potential fans. With a record-breaking tour and successful concert movie under their belts, The Original Kings of Comedy can lay claim to being some of the best and brightest comedic talents, period. Regardless of the color of their skin.Steve Harvey MCs nearly two hours of laughs that come at a machine-gun pace. His opening covers everything from the sinking of the Titanic, to the "country" ways of his audience to former NFL star Rae Carruth's brief flight from the law ("If you're runnin' from the law, why would you go to Nashville...?). D.L. Hughley steps to the mic next and delivers the weakest of the four performances. While some of his bits connect (such as how blacks and whites react differently to getting fired), he loses the audience about 1/2 way through. As a result, he turns his humor onto the audience themselves and finishes with a flourish. Cedric the Entertainer follows with the best piece of the quartet. His musings on the proliferation of blacks in the game of golf ("We out there on the course barbecuing...") and hockey are just as stinging as his views on the "I Wish" principle and the concept of being a grown ... man. Bernie Mac concludes the show with a mostly funny, but somewhat mean-spirited assault on raising his sister's kids and sex over 40. The DVD has some added features which really put this already enjoyable program over the top. Most notably are the bonus scenes, which include each "King" giving some exceptionally insightful background into how they struggled in obscurity to perfect their craft and who their biggest influences are. For hip hop fans, there's a video from the down south duo Big Tymers which features cameos from the Kings, as well. A generation ago, comedy tapes and records were a significant part of many peoples collections. The Kings of Comedy give hope that we can return to that era when day-to-day drama wasn't taken quite so seriously and we could still laugh at ourselves...and more importantly, each other.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost a classic
Review: The Original Kings of Comedy is not a movie per se; rather, it's an assortment of comics doing, well, comedy. Steve Harvey is the emcee, and he is joined by Cedric "The Entertainer", D.L. Hughley, and Bernie Mac. They each do an exceptional job of bringing their own comedic style to the stage, and I don't want to really go into the specifics because that would be giving away too much of the movie. So why didn't I give it five stars? Because there was one problem: part of D.L. Hughley's routine. Sure, his jokes were funny as ever, but we all know damn well that several of those jokes were the same jokes he told a year before (or a year later, depending on when this movie was taped) in his HBO special "Going Home". And I don't mean similar jokes, I mean EXACT jokes. Although the jokes are still funny, you can't help but ache for more new material. I've noticed that with a lot of black comedians. (I'm black too, so that's not a racist remark.) For example, several of Chris Rock's jokes from his HBO special "Bigger & Blacker" were the same jokes given during his monologue when he hosted Saturday Night Live in 1996...minus the profanity, of course. I think that kind of pattern isn't good to follow. I mean, how would you feel if you bought a new album from your favorite artist and discovered that the exact same songs from the previous album are on there? (Are you listening, Jesse Powell?) This is still a good video, so add it to your collection.
Rating:
Summary: Laughed until it hurt
Review: The kings of comedy had me laughing until it hurt. Bernie Mac was painfully true to form but it was Cedric who took it with "We Run"/ and the concentration it takes to park your car...turn that radio DOWNNNN.
Queens was lacking...Sheryl Underwood might have made it better. SoMore was a disappointment...normally she's my gurl. She was who I really wanted to see. The girl has skills but they were not shown here. Dirty words and Sex are not always funny, especially if it's ALL you talk about.
Rating:
Summary: An Hilarious Look Into The KIngdom of Black Comics
Review: Although this film is billed as a movie it's really a stand up comedy show starring Phenomenal Headliners Steve Harvey who MC's, DL Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer and Closer Bernie Mac. The show filmed is at the Charlotte Colosseum and additional footage at WPEG FM Power 98, backstage and viewer inserts are included. What makes this movie special is that all the comedians are targeting the same black audienence and are very different. Each comic complete with more good material than they ever use are funny. Steve Harvey localizes the Carolina Panthers football team and makes reference to how old school music involed love while hip hop is sometimes nonsense. DL Hughley's punch lines come as fast as an automatic weapon and does lots of observational humor into black culture. DL has more jokes than anyone else on the stage. Cedric's skit humor is more relaxed than Hughley and one could argue that he should have been the opener instead of DL just for tempo reasons. Cedric is hilarious but the audience seems slightly tired out after Harveys second performance. Finally Bernie Mac the Headliner of headliners for the evening gives what is a strong and shocking performance involving the disobedience of children and lackluster parenting of today. Mac is really doing a Broadway type one man show. Yes he's that good. Many great comics would have failed with his material but Bernie pulls it off with a strong finish. Black to White comparisons are made often in the show by each comic but they are more comparing than insulting. I would love to see a movie like this with white comics just because this movie has left me curious as to what it would be like. If you've never been to an arena size comedy show this Spike Lee Joint must be lit!
Rating:
Summary: A Wake Up Call from Baltimore
Review: Can I start by saying that Kings of Comedy totally changed my opinion of the comedians in it. Before watching this the only one of these guys that I found remotely funny was Cedric the Entertainer. However, this is prime example of what can be achieved when comedians are not restricted by WB, Fox or whatever mediocre network/cable channel they appear on. Secondly, can I congratulate the guy from Baltimore that was honest enough to speak his mind. What he said needed to be said. I'm from England, but lived in the US for a couple of years. Reading his words reminded me why I left the US (believe it or not but race relations in England are much better than they are in the US). In my opinion, he was just saying what the majority of White people think in the US anyway. During my stay there, being somewhat of a novelty (a black English guy, huh?) I was able to mix with all kinds of people / races and his sentiments ring loud and clear among the Caucasian population. I just wish that more black people could see how this person thinks. What he said was a blatant reminder that no matter what we do (as black people) most white people are inately racist and will never be able to get over that. After a week when black Hollywood finally got some respect at the Oscars his words should not be forgotten. It's at times like this when we black people start to think that times have changed. Well, quite honestly they haven't, and this guy has made that abundantly obvious. He had the nerve to challenge someone to change his mind. My advice would be don't bother.
Rating: 
Summary: Reply to the Review From Baltimore, MD
Review: The purpose of this review is not to change the mind of the "reviewer from Baltimore, MD," as his mind appears to be already made up. I won't even dispute his opinion that the film is not funny, because that's too subjective to argue...It definitely had its moments, but doesn't measure up to Richard Pryor or Chris Rock...but then again, what does?) However, the fact that the film and the humor contained there in appeals to a predominantly black audience makes it no less legit than, say, the comedy of George Carlin, Dennis Miller, Jerry Seinfeld, or Jeff Foxworthy, who appeal mainly to white audiences. We laugh at what we can relate to, empathize with, or understand on some level. It is not the fault of Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, Bernie Mac, or D.L. Hughley that the "reviewer from Baltimore, MD" cannot relate to 'hood humor. And I feel sorry for him if his main impressions of black people are derived from the media and crime statistics (the latter of which is more related to economics than race--correlation is not causation). I can't believe that I even have to argue this, but there is much diversity within the black community as there is within the white community...
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