The Original Kings of Comedy

• Director: Spike Lee
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Comedy
• Movie Type: Concerts, Standup Comedy
• Themes: Parenthood, Mischievous Children, Fathers and Sons
• Main Cast: Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, Bernie Mac
• Release Year: 2000
• Country: US
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• MPAA Rating: R

Plot

In 1997, four of America's leading African-American stand-up comedians -- Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Bernie Mac, and Cedric The Entertainer -- joined forces for a concert tour that became one of the top money-earning attractions of recent years, consistently selling out 10,000 to 15,000 seat arenas from coast to coast. The Original Kings of Comedy captures the tour's rough and raunchy humor on film. The concert documentary was shot in February of 2000 during a two-night stand in Charlotte, North Carolina (which was the site of the tour's first date three years earlier). Spike Lee served as director. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Review

For anyone who grew up on the concert movies of Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, George Carlin, and others, the dead form returns to prominence with The Original Kings of Comedy. Spike Lee, putting his weight behind the project more than actually "directing" it, captures the Charlotte leg of what turned out to be the highest-grossing comedy tour of all time. Except for a few backstage interludes that seem set up, if not actually scripted, the film concentrates on the raucous standup comedy of emcee Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac. In keeping with their TV sitcom backgrounds, the first three comedians are a bit more accessible and less vulgar than Mac, whose rants about beating on women and children may leave the audience in stitches, but will undoubtedly leave some viewers shifting in their seats. Catering to mostly African-American audiences on the tour, more than a couple of the comedians slip into some highly stylized slang that may be difficult for all viewers to decipher. In fact, those watching it on DVD might get more of the rapid-fire jokes by turning on the subtitles, so exaggerated are some of the speech patterns. Although not for everyone, The Original Kings of Comedy is a long-awaited theatrical rejuvenation of a genre that had since been abandoned to cable and video shelves. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Cast

• Steve Harvey
• D.L. Hughley
• Cedric the Entertainer
• Bernie Mac

Credit

Tom Warren - Art Director, Butch Robinson - Co-producer, Mike Ellis - First Assistant Director, Spike Lee - Director, Barry Alexander Brown - Editor, Van Toffler - Executive Producer, Malik Hassan Sayeed - Cinematographer, Spike Lee - Producer, Walter Latham - Producer, David Gale - Producer, Rolf Pardula - Sound/Sound Designer, Alex Steyermark - Executive Music Producer

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Bill Cosby, Himself; Eddie Murphy: Delirious; Eddie Murphy: Raw; Richard Pryor: Here and Now; Richard Pryor: Live in Concert; Bill Cosby: 49; Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip; Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin'; Martin Lawrence: You So Crazy; The Queens of Comedy; Comedian; Latham Entertainment Presents; Original Latin Kings of Comedy; Before They Were Kings, Vol. 1; Scruncho: Live From the LBC; Brian Hooks All Starz Live; Big Black Comedy, Vol. 3; My Stomach Hurt, Part 1; Just for Laughs: Stand Up, Vol. 1 - Best of the Uptown Comics; Allah Made Me Funny