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The Original Kings of Comedy

Play trailer Poster for The Original Kings of Comedy R Released Aug 18, 2000 1h 55m Documentary Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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83% Tomatometer 104 Reviews 79% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
A cultural phenomenon for our time: Spike Lee captures the comic geniuses behind the successful "Kings of Comedy" tour. In the concert feature film "The Original Kings of Comedy," acclaimed director Spike Lee brings his aesthetic sensibility and distinct style to the comedy concert film genre, as he documents the individual talents of Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric The Entertainer, and Bernie Mac and reveals the behind the scenes activities of a tour that continues to sell out arenas.
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The Original Kings of Comedy

The Original Kings of Comedy

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Critics Consensus

If you want lots of laughs and don't mind some profanity, The Original Kings of Comedy can deliver.

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Critics Reviews

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Odie Henderson Slant Magazine [Spike Lee] knows the show belongs to his comedians, so he aids and abets from the shadows like the best of accomplices. The result is the Stop Making Sense of stand-up comedy movies Aug 7, 2019 Full Review Evening Standard Staff London Evening Standard Their comic material is all cut from much the same cloth and lacks variety: their viewpoint is middle-aged; their "attitude" is strenuously confrontational. Aug 7, 2019 Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian There are some good gags and routines here, but loads of them have been done with far more invention and wit by Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy. Aug 7, 2019 Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault An hour of it would probably have been enough. Rated: B- Sep 2, 2022 Full Review Dennis King Tulsa World The Original Kings of Comedy is a bracing rush of laughter -- laughter at our differences, laughter at our anger, laughter at our common absurdities, laughter that brings us all closer together. These guys are royally funny. Aug 7, 2019 Full Review Joshua Brunsting Movie Mezzanine Ostensibly a shot performance of a comedians Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Bernie Mac and Cedric The Entertainer, the film is not only genuinely funny, but also very much a cultural touchstone. Rated: A- Aug 7, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Though an appealing lineup, the capturing documentary over their collaborated standup didn't aged well anchored by dated commentary behind their joking delivery since they have delivered their hilarious best either prior and much afterwards that unfortunately heightened the expectations when discovering this film for the first time. There are still funny occasions that fortunately prevents this comedic concert film from any sort of disappointment due to satisfyingly meeting the minimal acceptance when only reflecting differentiating senses of humor as the bland center of its presented value. (B) Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member I've seen this several times and every time I watch it, it's like seeing it for the first time....ROTFLMAO funny! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member Spike Lee's unorthodox camera angles and chatty Cathy behind the scenes excerpts bog down this stand up feature that has good enough material from its stars it doesn't need any extra depth. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member This is something you pop into your DVD player when you feel down and need a real laugh or if some of your friends who know what real comedy is. all except Cedric the Entertainer's set which was way to long and not that funny hence 4.5 Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member A large portion of the humour stays in the familiar territory, commenting on the ever-expanding differences between black people and white people. Don't get me wrong, funny jokes can still be made in relation to this subject and some were but it was mainly these ones which let D.L Hughley down in particular. Harvey's segment old skool music was fresh and original. It was nice that he ventured outside the comedic element a bit, getting the audience on their feet, grooving to some old skool tunage. Cedric was good and significantly better than Harvery and Hughley, but the stand up that stood out was Bernie Mac....BY FAR. Film was probably hovering around a 3 star before he jumped on it. Constant laughter. And by the time he reached the stuttering kid part; he had me gasping for air. Too much. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member How dare they! How dare these hacks call themselves the "Original Kings of Comedy". That is the funniest thing they have ever said. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A cultural phenomenon for our time: Spike Lee captures the comic geniuses behind the successful "Kings of Comedy" tour. In the concert feature film "The Original Kings of Comedy," acclaimed director Spike Lee brings his aesthetic sensibility and distinct style to the comedy concert film genre, as he documents the individual talents of Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric The Entertainer, and Bernie Mac and reveals the behind the scenes activities of a tour that continues to sell out arenas.
Director
Spike Lee
Producer
Walter Latham
Screenwriter
Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Bernie Mac
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
MTV Films, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Latham Entertainment
Rating
R (Language and Sex Related Humor)
Genre
Documentary, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 18, 2000, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$38.2M
Runtime
1h 55m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby Digital, DTS
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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