DVD Review: Katt Williams - It's Pimpin' Pimpin' - Page 2

Race is something that’s mentioned here and there in his act, but it isn’t a dividing point within it, but just another topic for his humorous observations. Speaking of President George W. Bush, the comedian says that “white people” will let someone drive the wrong way for hours, without saying a thing about it, but “with black people, you make two suspect left turns and your (bleep) is out the car.” It’s a metaphor for the way this country has been going, and tells us how Williams feels about who has been in charge so far. The comedian has a way of bringing abstract concepts into focus through everyday metaphors.

Another major theme is the importance of being proactive and attentive for the dire times up ahead. He points out the difference between “real” people and those who only want their money, and care nothing about the lives they profit from. "If you are real, they can't stand you. They hate the way you think, the way you dress, they hate everything about you. You have to look out for your star player in 2008.” By way of illustration he offers up the cavalier way new pharmaceuticals are put on the market and touted as “the best pill ever” — only to place a quiet, late-night ad a few months later: “Have you or a loved one been killed by our drug? Call 1-800-OUR-BADD.” That’s a topic right up my alley; anyone who’s looked into the standards lately will have some serious alarm bells going off. It isn’t easy to make serious matters funny and entertaining and light-hearted but Mr. Williams pulls it off.

The actor/comedian’s command of physicality is one of his strengths as an entertainer, and he gives that no shrift here. Whether acting out his tips for lovemaking, or steroid musclemen posturing, or Barry Bonds playing baseball, or playing Wii tennis while high on vaporised marijuana, or even his own motorcycle accident, his vibrant energy and precise pantomiming add life and dimension to each story he tells. Throughout all this he reminds us repeatedly of the necessity of laughter. “Get every laugh you can,” he advises. He advises he tries to get at least seven good laughs a day, “even at things I’m not supposed to.” He recounts how he roared with laughter watching the FLDS wives on TV. Then, he re-enacts parts of that story, set to the Little House on the Prairie theme song.

Perhaps the most brilliant bit in the whole evening is Katt Williams’ tiger story. The true story of a mauling at the San Francisco Zoo was another thing he admits he laughed out loud at, “whether he was supposed to or not.” He points out the reasons why grown people should not be climbing into a tiger’s cage at the zoo. Then, like Richard Pryor with his animal stories, Katt becomes the tigers - proud, wild things robbed of their dignity, locked in a semblance of their real environment, talking about what they’d do if someone “ever, ever” stepped into their cage; their glee when it actually happens; and then getting to behave like an actual tiger for once, instead of a stuffed animal at the mall. That Williams compares the tigers’ lot to the lot of a “black man in America” adds another layer to the story, and the hilariously funny suddenly becomes sobering, and poignant as well. If anyone thinks racism is over simply because Obama is the President-elect, listen to Williams' account of the Flavor Flav Comedy Central roast.

Article Author: Brandy

Visit Brandy's author page