Caffeinated Clint
By Ashley Hillard
When Dave Chappelle left the world of comedy behind, he left a gaping hole in the entertainment industry. His ratings were through the roof and he seemingly walked away from it all. Some of the regulars on ”Chappelle’s Show” broke off to do solo projects, but none seem to be able to capture the success that came from being on such a hilariously poignant series.
Though Chappelle says of one of his Chappelle’s Show regulars, Donnell Rawlings, that he “cannot not be funny,” it’s apparent from Rawlings’ new DVD From “ASHY to Classy: Live and Uncut”, that he is capable of not being funny. Maybe stand up isn’t where he shines, because he does have hilarious characters featured on ”Chappelle’s Show”. Rawlings also had a substantial role on HBO’s ”The Wire”. He can act and his sketch comedy is great, but the stand up routine falls a bit flat.
Rawlings takes on American pop culture and politics and a few of his impersonations are very funny, such as his take on Michael Jackson. He has a couple of jokes that run through the entire routine though that get old fast and make the whole performance feel tired before it’s even halfway through. Overall, there are other comedians that do it better and this routine is only so so.
Extras
The DVD extras are fairly minimal, with photos and a trailer. There is also a short, ”An Ashy Story”, which seems to mimic Erykah Badu’s video for Window Seat, where she strips naked. Though Rawlings hits a few high notes in this DVD, it’s not the kind of insightful, sharp comedy routine you can watch, and laugh at, over and over again.
