Never been totally sold on Chris Rock myself but I do tend to like angry and outrageous comedians at times and so I decided to check out this special. What I was looking for is the same as always which is lots of energy and strong language but that it is all used in context of a funny and insightful routine. Mostly this is what I got here as Rock covers topics such as marriage, parenthood, rap music and so on. The audience seemed more engaged than I was but I was still laughing along in an amused rather than "in hysterics" way. I think the reason for this is perhaps that Rock is really good with an audience and plays off them with great energy and timing - some of that does come across on the screen but not to the extent that I'm sure it is up close and personal.
This helps him anyway because it can only be a good thing for a performer for your weaker moments to be met by frantic laughter, nodding and knee-slapping. Or at least that is how it works here because some of his material is not as smart or as based in realism as I would have liked, even if the majority of it is pretty sharp. Perhaps understandably he doesn't get into challenging the things he is joking about and as a result the viewer can ignore the shoe whether it fits or not. This does detract a little from his "importance" as a comedian but not his ability to get a laugh.
Never Scared is pretty funny even if I never found it hilarious. The broad caricatures and gags are mostly based in reality to make for a satisfying comedy but some viewers will lose the good in the fact that it is very crude and sexually graphic in the content. To others this will be part of the appeal and this is often the way of things, but the show itself is just about good enough to appeal to the casual viewer as well as fans of Rock and this style of comedy.
This helps him anyway because it can only be a good thing for a performer for your weaker moments to be met by frantic laughter, nodding and knee-slapping. Or at least that is how it works here because some of his material is not as smart or as based in realism as I would have liked, even if the majority of it is pretty sharp. Perhaps understandably he doesn't get into challenging the things he is joking about and as a result the viewer can ignore the shoe whether it fits or not. This does detract a little from his "importance" as a comedian but not his ability to get a laugh.
Never Scared is pretty funny even if I never found it hilarious. The broad caricatures and gags are mostly based in reality to make for a satisfying comedy but some viewers will lose the good in the fact that it is very crude and sexually graphic in the content. To others this will be part of the appeal and this is often the way of things, but the show itself is just about good enough to appeal to the casual viewer as well as fans of Rock and this style of comedy.