I’ll say one thing for comedians these days – it’s tough to straddle the line between hilarity and cultural insensitivity. Only a qualified few can actually breach the subject in such a way that the comedy reveals as well as entertains. Chris Rock found a way. Even Eddie Murphy, Rock’s mentor, found insightful but funny ways to expose cultural inequities. Before him Richard Pryor excelled as well. Not to mention Freddie Prinze. All of these comedians found their comedic niches inside a very delicate subject: race in the United States. At one time, it could only be handled by minorities.
For that reason I’ll give Whiteboyz in the Hood credit for bringing the opportunity to the Caucasian front. Before now, if any white male wanted to make jokes at the expense of another race – he was a racist. This show, Whiteboyz has found a tasteful venue to allow white comedians to bridge that gap. Whiteboyz has 10 episodes with 3 comedians in each displaying just how messed up the white world is. Each jab at American white culture is met with howls and cheers from the shows entirely African-American studio audience. As you might have guessed from the title – this 3 white kids to an entire black audience ratio is exactly what the show wants. I think it’s exactly what comedy needed.
For too long white comedians have stuck to the safe topics of general everyday oddities without ever daring to touch that cultural boundary. If they strayed too far into what at some point became defined as the “black comedy” region they were called posers or whatever. By setting up this dynamic Whiteboyz may actually be doing a credit to the comedy community as a whole.
What’s more? The comedians in the series are actually pretty damned funny. Granted I’d never heard of most of them before this series, but they all have substantial chops enough to overcome adversity and entertain all watching. I didn’t know quite what to expect when this DVD landed on my desk. In fact, from the get-go I was pretty much expecting to pan the entire thing as a debacle waiting to happen.
But the series has merit. Granted I thought the host of the series needed a little more prep time to get a better bag of jokes to entertain and liven the crowd during those crucial opening moments. And the whole – “Let’s watch this clip” intro was bit corny. But the series was redeemed by the “in your face” antics of each and every comedian. My hat’s off to all the comedians in the series and I’d encourage people to pick up this DVD. I know it seems like a bomb waiting to happen, but it’s actually a good solid chunk of comedy.
Extras on the DVD include a few of the comedians who didn’t quite make the cut. While they aren’t quite as good as those who actually make it on the show, they definitely could have been called back for a second season. If ever there is one.
Beyond that, the “Honkey in the Hood” music video is just silly. Not funny really. Just silly. The rest of the extras are more about formatting than entertainment.
Overall, I’d say “Meh, why not?”
"Whiteboyz in the Hood - Season 1" is on sale October 5, 2006 and is rated PG13. Comedy. Directed by Richie Namm. Written by Various. Starring Jason Andors, Jay Black, Jen Kober, Redbone.
