I saw his latest Chappelle and overall, all the specials just seem to hit me weird. I'm not quite sure if he hasn't changed with the times or they are just not as good as his previous work but they all land uncomfortably.
Tonally, the specials sound like he's lecturing too often, kinda like he's way too bought into his own hype. (All his clothes has his name on them for god's sake.) We do see his signature playfulness and flashes of greatness but I don't get the sense that he's priority is comedy first, commentary second like it once was. Don't get me wrong, his skill, craft, and mastery of the form is in astounding display and you get the feeling he can run laps around most stand ups in his sleep.
What's distressing is the person his become. He does make some good points throughout the 4 specials and there are some greats bits for sure but he seems to miss just as often, if not more. He's always been vulgar and crude but he got away by being poignant. In these specials, the jokes and the commentary often aren't sharp enough to mask the crassness of his words.
The other thing I wonder is, how much does my lack of enjoyment have to do with his new voice? The Dave I fell in love with had a high pitch voice, which added to his goofiness. Now he has an odd deep voice which I assume has to do with a combination of steroids, smoking, and aging. Idk but I just get a different vibe from him which I think has partly to do with his changed voice.
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