Chappelle Show At 20: 10 Funniest Skits

Just like that my friends it is the 20th anniversary of Chappelle Show. Debuting January 22, 2003 and running for only two full seasons and a mashed up third for a total of 28 episodes. The show had pop culture in a full press choke hold during it's run. 20 year's later it still has a hold on much of society. Especially those of us who were teenagers/young adults during the show's initial run.

I always found Dave Chappelle as a funny guy, but it wasn't until his 2000 HBO special Killin' Them Softly that I realized what a genius he is. The genius trait carried over into Chappelle Show leaving us with several memorable skits and characters. To Celebrate the man and the show, here are ten of the funniest skits during the show's run.

10. Kneehigh park

This skit aired on season 2 episode 10 of the show. It's a parody of Sesame Street, which Dave riffed on previously in his stand up special. Kneehigh Park is a rougher version of Sesame Street where the kids are introduced to life lessons such as the dangers of drugs, std's like herpes and crabs, and the cynical view of life and society the older you get (a very important life lesson). Stinky The Grump (Hilariously voiced Charlie Murphy) help's drive that point home when his famous "Fuck It" jingle. Kneehigh Park is not one I hear people reference much, but each segment is very funny and the overall skit is highly underrated. 

9. Tyrone Biggums

The World was introduced to Tyrone Biggums in the second episode of the first season. A functioning crackhead impervious to pain and willing to do whatever for his next hit. He would be a recurring character throughout the shows run. In his debut skit he talk's to a classroom about the dangers of smoking crack and......how to be a dealer. 

8. Making the Band 

In the early 2000's MTV's Making The Band starring Diddy (Then known as P. Diddy) was a sensation. It was such an sensation the rap group he put together Da' Band were actually considered hot. This sketch was genius, featuring actual four members of the band and Chappelle playing both P. Diddy and Dylan. 

The sketch riffed on Diddy's consistent threats to shut the studio down during the show, and his famous walk to Brooklyn for some Juniors cheesecake scene. Of course the sketch is most famous for the top 5 rappers of all time line...Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, and Dylan.

7. Piss On You

Aired during season 1 episode 10, Dave Chappelle sampled R. Kelly's "Feeling On Your Booty" single from a couple years earlier and used the sex tape scandal featuring R. Kelly pissing on women, to create comedy gold. If you don't find the two song's "Piss On You" and the "Piss On You" remix (which samples ignition remix) please please check your pulse. If some reason you have never seen either sketches here's Piss On You and the remix 

6. Wayne Brady Show 

Season 2 episode 12 in a bit of meta foreshadowing centered around Dave Chappelle unhappy with negotiations for the next season of the show, walking off. In his absence Wayne Brady was bought on to host the show. Along with a Fear Factor segment, the funniest skit was a Training Day inspired sketch featuring Wayne Brady and Dave Chappelle on the town. Dave as well as the audience were SHOOKED to see an aggressive, vengeful, murderous Wayne Brady. His most famous line "Is Wayne Brady going to have to choke a bitch?" is still quoted to this day.

5. Racial Draft

Oh boy this one is Gold!! and I don't think anyone else could have pulled it off. The Racial draft a spoof on the hoopla and hype surrounding the NFL draft. It features cameos by Mos Def, Angie Martinez and Rza. The purpose of the Racial Draft was to draft people into a race based on their perceived ethnicity. Describing it won't do it any justice just watch the skit.

4. Lil' Jon

In the early 2000's much like Making The Band was a sensation, Lil' Jon and the crunk era of Hip Hop and R&B was an juggernaut. Everytime you turned on the radio or BET and MTV (back when they played music videos) a Lil' Jon produced song was guaranteed to be in the rotation, in fact most times that's all that was in the rotation.

It was only right Chappelle made him a target with A Day In The Life of Lil' Jon.  It includes moments at the airport and the doc's office. The skit is even funnier when Chappelle as Lil' Jon has a phone conversation with the actual Lil' Jon. The skit is filled with a lot of "yeahhh's" and "Whattt".

3. Player Hater's Ball

There's Players and the Player's Ball and there's Hater's and The Player Hater's Ball. In The Chappelle show world, The Player Hater's Ball is a convention of verbal abusers or in better terms who can roast other's the harshest. Featuring cameos by Ice-T and Patrice O'Neal, the fact the haters dress up like pimps is even more hilarious. Check out the skit your stomach will hurt from laughing so hard.

2. Clayton Bigsby 

Audiences were introduced to Clayton Bigsby on the very first episode of Chappelle show, and that skit should have been a clue that we were in a ride of something different, thought provoking and hilarious. Clayton Bigsby is a blind white supremacist who just so happens to be Black. He is top 3 fictional Uncle Tom's behind Uncle Ruckus and Stephen (D'Jango Unchained). In real life there are a lot of Black people like this.

The skit is so hilarious because it's a Deadline style segment featuring his life story, his hatred of Black People, and how he is so revered in the white Supremacist community although no one has ever seen his face. Which leads to a hilarious end to the sketch.

1. Charlie Murphy True Hollywood story

Come on could anything else have been the best skit of the Chappelle show series? The skits featured Charlie Murphy (who was an excellent storyteller) recalling wild time's of the 80's he came across some celebrities hanging with his brother Eddie. The first of course is the story of the time Prince beat him and his friends in a game of pick-up basketball, but it's how they get to that point that's a riot.

The second more popular story is a night out on the town with Rick James (who was very good friends with Eddie). Rick was a wild boy in his day and this story further highlights it. The sketch further accentuates how wild Rick was, by having Rick James himself provide some commentary on the going-on's in the skit. The sketch is famous for two lines still uttered today, "Fuck yo' couch" and of course "I'm Rick James Bitch".

Chappelle Show was something special and it was hard narrowing down this list to only 10 skits. I missed some good ones (Samuel L. Jackson Beer), but that's the beauty of the show it was gold all the time. Researching for this blog, I was laughing my ass off at these skits like it was my first time watching them. Which proves how timeless the show was and why it's still loved today. 

Cheers to 20 Years Chappelle Show!

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1993 A Great Year For Action Films

 

Happy New Year Everyone! Since 2023 is now here, I was doing a bit of research to celebrate film anniversaries on my IG page (@storybyb). In doing so I realized 1993 was a hell of a year for the action genre in films. The list of films released that year in all qualities and budget levels is actually quite impressive. To make reading the article a bit easier, I've broken the films down into categories.

Put That Work In

Both Wesley Snipes and Jean-Claude Van Damme were at the top of their respective games in the 90's. 1993 was a good year for both, Wesley showed his acting chops a bit more and Van Damme showed off his martial arts prowess. Wesley starred in three films, one we'll cover later but he starred in Rising Sun with Sean Connery and Boiling Point against Dennis Hopper.

Van Damme not to be outdone used the momentum from '92's Universal Soldier and starred in Hard Target directed by John Woo. In addition he starred in Nowhere To Run alongside Patricia Arquette. These roles carried him into '94 for some of his more well known roles.

B-Movies  

B-Movie classic Sniper starring Tom Berenger and Billy Zane which has spawned a series of follow up films in the franchise. The film spawned 8 follow ups and the latest movie Sniper: Rogue Mission (now playing on Netflix) was actually very enjoyable.

Blown Away starring the two Corey's Corey Haim and Corey Feldman and Nicole Eggert. Corey Haim starts dating Nicole Eggert's character and gets entangled in a whole web of murder and deceit. 

A little known movie called Josuha Tree or One Man Army depending on the market etc. starring He-Man himself Dolph Lundgren. It has all the B-movie ingredients random action scenes, random nudity, and a plot that makes some sense but at times doesn't. For those of you who have never heard of it, here's the trailer.

Tae-Bo founder Billy Blanks when he was still trying to make a dent in the Hollywood scene starred in Showdown. Which is clearly a Karate Kid rip-off but actually may have been an inspiration for Never Back Down fifteen years later. Billy Blanks also starred in another B-movie that year alongside pro wrestling legend Roddy Piper, Back In Action.

Another martial arts film  Magic Kid this time starring Ted Jan Roberts of Masked Rider fame. He's a kid visiting LA with his sister and staying with their uncle. Their uncle is in some trouble with local gangsters, and he must be saved by his nephew who just wants to meet his hero while in town Don "The Dragon" Wilson. 

Action Thrillers

Judgment Night an underrated gem of a movie in my opinion. The film stars Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding Jr., Jeremy Piven, Stephen Dorff. The four friends take a wrong turn off the highway and come across a dangerous gang led by Denis Leary. They become the hunted on the run along a Chicago neighborhood.

The Pelican Brief  based on a book by John Grisham and starring Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts. Roberts is a law student on the run who needs assistance from Denzel Washington after she uncovers some information about the assassination of political figures.

Striking Distance Bruce Willis is a Pittsburgh cop on river patrol. Several recent young ladies are murdered all with connections to him. Along with his partner Sarah Jessica Parker they set out to find the killer and the connection.

In The Line Of Fire Another political action thriller, this one starring Clint Eastwood. Rene Russo, John Malkovich and Dylan McDermott. Eastwood is a secret service agent still haunted by his failure to protect President Kennedy from assassination 30 years earlier, now he's being taunted as the current president is the next target.

The Fugitive based on the 60's TV show, Tommy Lee Jones is a U.S. Marshall hot on the trail of Harrison Ford who has been accused of murdering his wife. While he's on the run, Ford is searching for the real killer. 

Falling Down starring Michael Douglas as a man who has a  real shitty downward spiral one day (which actually is a prime example of white male fragility gone wrong) released in February of that year. 

True Romance written by Quentin Taratino and directed by Tony Scott. The film stars Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette as two lovers on the run from damn near everybody after accidentally stealing some drugs. 

Personal Favorites

The Meteor Man starring Robert Townsend and a host of who's who in Black Hollywood in the early 90's. Next to another one of my favorites The Last Dragon, Meteor Man is one of the earliest memories I have of a Black superhero saving the neighborhood.  By the way Amazon still waiting on that Meteor Man cartoon. 

Another one of my personal favorites Only The Strong starring Mark Dacasos who should have been an bigger martial arts film star in my opinion. The movie is another clearly inspired Karate Kid film with some dash of Stand and Deliver. The movie introduced me to the Brazilian martial arts style capoeira and the infectious battle chant.

While on martial arts Oh boy, how could I forget Surf Ninjas? Starring Ernie Reyes Jr, Tone-Loc, Kelly Hu, Rob Schneider, and Leslie Nielsen. During this time I was at the height of my martial arts/ninja craze so this movie fit right in. Following two brothers and their motley crue of friends and allys on the run from some not so dangerous ninjas out to get them. It's silly, contains a lot of low brow and slapstick humor, and not the best of movies but damn it's a ride. 

Hell 1993 even bought us the often criticized, still decent but flawed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.

Random's 

Overseas action films introduced us to Iron Monkey starring Donnie Yen who should have been crossed over and gained a bigger Hollywood status like Jackie Chan and Jet Li. The weaker of the trilogy primarily due to it's lighter tone but still enjoyable Robocop 3 was released. 

Best Of The Best II starring Phillip Rhee and Eric Roberts. Even Wayne Newton joins in the fun with a bit part. The film has a Vegas Gladiator tone to it, and while different from the first one is just as enjoyable. 

 One for the history books, the often scrutinized but a top tier bad but fun video game movie in Super Mario Bros. Which I also think was the first video game turned into a movie.

Posse starring and directed by Mario Van Pebbles, covers the story of Black cowboys during the western era. An often overlooked topic in Hollywood, still to this day. 

While we're on westerns, there's the  classic western starring Val Kilmer, Kurt Russell, and Bill Paxton Tombstone. Which revigorated the western genre.  

Heavy Hitters

When we talk heavy hitters of action movies in 1993. The cinema gods did us a huge favor that year for action films. Wesley Snipes was mentioned earlier as he was  all over the place in '93. He turned in a scene stealing run as villain Simon Phoenix against Sylvester Stallone in one of my absolute favorites Demolition Man. Stallone had us covered again that year with another action banger Cliffhanger. 

Then Stallone's old pal Arnold Schwarzenegger lit up the screen in what I think may have been one of the first forms of meta acknowledgments and jokes in a movie, the cult classic Last Action Hero. I absolutely love that movie, and consider it a classic. To this day if Demolition Man or Last Action Hero come on, I likely will stop what I'm doing and watch them.

Point of No Return starring Bridget Fonda and based on the 1990 film La Femme Nikkita. Fonda stars as a recovering addict given a second chance at life to become an assassin. After several successful missions she wants out, but that's as easy as it sounds. The film is famous for the legendary laundry chute explosion scene.

Jurassic Park One of the biggest and most technological advanced blockbusters ever graced screens that year. Directed by not only a legendary director but also a visionary in Steven Spielberg. It opened the door for Hollywood to see how CGI could help bring more stories to life. In fact Avatar has a lot to thank Jurassic Park for. It was the highest grossing movie of 1993, and 30 years later still one of the highest grossing films of all time.

There you have it, some of the masterpieces of 1993 Action films. It's an expansive and impressive list, and I'm sure I missed one or two. Either way if there are any on this list you may not have seen, do yourself a favor and check them out.

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