The Original Kings of Comedy

R

Released Aug 18, 2000

1 hr. 55 min.

Documentary

Comedy

List

83%

104 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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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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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

dave j

Documented by Spike Lee with Steve Harvey as the host and introducer like what he did when he was in the Apollo theater. With the first stand up is D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer and finally Bernie Mac. Not for children as there are plenty of cussing.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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

william s

Insulting.......and funny as hell.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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

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Spike Lee

Director

Cedric the Entertainer

Self

Steve Harvey

Self

D.L. Hughley

Self

Bernie Mac

Self

Walter Latham

Producer

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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

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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
Executive Producer: Van Toffler
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
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital, DTS
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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