LTE: Chris Rock's jokes about Bush in bad taste

[icehenge]

Here's one from the Tennessean paper.

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Chris Rock's jokes about Bush in bad taste

To the Editor:

I was a huge Chris Rock fan. Unfortunately, his Oscar performance Sunday night devalued my opinion of him.

Continued here, Second letter down.
http://www.tennessean.com/opinion/letters/archives/05/01/66262385.shtml?Element_ID=66262385
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FYI: Brentwood voted 70%+ Republican last election

[LiberalinNC]

1. I'd wish Rock could have been more himself that night!

[elehhhhna]

2. Truth hurts. Rock was right.

[BlueEyedSon]

3. Everybody: "Aaawwwwwwww."

:(

[bemildred]

4. Chacun a son gout.

I thought they were in great taste.
His opinion is worthless, in my opinion.
:-)

[booksenkatz]

5. Unlike the Clinton blowjob jokes, which are in excellent taste.

I'm sure this person who is complaining laughs his ass off at the Monica jokes which we're all still subject to, even all these years later.

I didn't watch the awards show, I don't know what the Bush jokes were, but Chris Rock is one of the funniest comics EVER, so I trust his judgment completely!

[malaise]

7. Chris Rocked

That Gap v Banana Republic analogy was brilliant and fall down funny.

[smoogatz]

6. But Rock's standup impression of R Kelly

with his tongue up a teen-age girl's ass is in impeccable taste, of course. This maroon has obviously not seen Rock's current act--it's highly political and extremely anti-war and anti-Bush.

[TheIntruder240]

8. Rock was way too tame

I like his stand up alot better than his hosting. Bush stuff was funny, so was the Tim Robbins jab!

[Ian David]

11. "Rock was Right!" Who wants to make a graphic? Photoshop?

That thing Chris did about only 5 real stars in Hollywood was perfect.

Rock said: "You want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law? Wait.
“You want Russell Crowe and all you can get is Colin Farrell? Wait.
“Alexander is not Gladiator.

What made it great was at the end when he said something like:
"You want Denzel Washington and all you can get is Chris Rock? Wait."

What made that routine perfect was Chris Rock's own self-deprication.

I'm not finding that last detail in even the positive reviews.

Rock and Penn clash over Law
Ireland Online, Ireland - 6 hours ago
Oscars host Chris Rock infuriated 2004 winner Sean Penn at Sunday night's ... Wait. “You want Russell Crowe and all you can get is Colin Farrell? Wait. ...
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/story.asp?j=54569520&p=545698x5


Also:


"One of my favorite movies this year was Fahrenheit 9/11. Michael Moore did not get nominated for an Oscar. Right now Michael Moore is wondering, 'I should have made Super Size Me. I've done the research.' "

Partial Transcript (Compiled from USA Today and AmericasBlog)

"Bush is a genius. I mean think about it. He was basically reapplying for his job last year at the same time a movie was being played all across the country showing what a crappy job he did. He got into office and we had a surplus. Now, we're like 70 trillion dollars in debt. Now let's say you worked at the GAP. You're closing out at the end of the day, and your register comes up 70 trillion dollars short. You're gonna get in trouble over that. Not Bush. No, he figured out a way to keep his job.


"Bush did some things you could never get away with at your job, man. ... Just imagine you worked at the Gap. You're $70 trillion behind on your register and then you start a war with Banana Republic 'cause you say they got toxic tank tops over there. You have the war, people are dying, a thousand Gap employees are dead, bleeding all over the khakis, you finally take over Banana Republic, and you find out they never made tank tops in the first place."



http://www.americablog.blogspot.com/

Host Chris Rock comes out firing
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/oscars/2005-02-28-rock-rants_x.htm

Also:

I suggest all who are interested in framing actually study some of his speeches. If the Democratic party could find 4 more Chris Rocks to either host a weekly political news show or to write speeches, I don't think the Republican party with all its linguists could beat metaphors with humor.

I think Chris Rock, Jon Stewert and Bill Maher set the example of how progressives can take control of the debate. Use humor.
http://dailykos.com/story/2005/2/27/204714/118


Chris Rock Turns the Oscars into a Blue State Affair
National Ledger, AZ - 19 hours ago
Chris Rock led off the Oscars on Sunday with ... "You're $70 trillion behind on your register, and then you start a war with Banana Republic, cause you say
http://www.nationalledger.com/scribe/archives/2005/02/chris_rock_turn.shtml

Matt Drudge Fails to Bring Down the Oscars
Washington Dispatch, Virginia - Feb 28, 2005
... In the case of Chris Rock and the Oscars, Drudge ... Rock hosted the Oscars to mixed reviews but nonetheless ... then you start a war with Banana Republic 'cause you ...
http://www.washingtondispatch.com/culture/archives/000777.html

Rock's potshots deadly accurate
NorthJersey.com, NJ - Feb 28, 2005
... But Chris Rock had some howlingly funny moments as Oscar host ... and then started a war with Banana Republic on the ... to prove his argument that the Oscars are out ...
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2NzEmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY2NTk0NzkmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3

A highly judgmental but completely fair look at Sean John-clad ...
Chicago Tribune (subscription) - Feb 28, 2005
THE JOKE: Chris Rock's jab at President Bush ... dollar register deficit and going to war with Banana Republic over non ... year they're going to give the Oscars away in ...
http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/tv/mmx-0502280173feb28,0,5256054.story?coll=mmx-television_heds


One Dumb Rock
Dummocrats - Feb 27, 2005
So, I'm watching the Oscars and sitting through Chris Rock's opening monologue ... clerk declaring war over non-existant toxic tank tops at Banana Republic. ...
http://www.dummocrats.com/archives/000760.php


Rock's debut as host wasn't bad-boy; it was simply bad
Aberdeen American News, SD - Feb 28, 2005
Supposed bad boy Chris Rock delivered a naughty word in ... sentence last night at the Oscars, then followed ... battle between clerks at the Gap and Banana Republic. ...
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/entertainment/special_packages/academy_awards/11013366.htm

Oscars: The Weeners and Thoughts
Blogcritics.org - Feb 28, 2005
... were created the same year as the first Oscars. ... Chris Rock starts off with a bang, high energy, he's in ... His "Gap vs Banana Republic go to war" schtick, in the ...
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/28/105541.php



Rock's act is raunch and race, half of which was out of bounds on broadcast TV. He still managed to make the industry squirm -- not with his language, which was admirably sanitized, but with his digs at some of showbiz's young stars. If the best a producer can do is get a Tobey Maguire, Jude Law, Colin Farrell or Ja Rule, when they really want Clint Eastwood, Russell Crowe or Denzel Washington, they should just wait until the genuine stars are avail-able, Rock quipped. (Uber-intense presenter Sean Penn, the thinking man's boor, later made the mistake of trying to answer Rock's humorous routine with a somber defense of Law.)

More:
http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/entertainment/article/0,1375,VCS_232_3583659,00.html


Oscar shone when Rock got rolling
BY AARON BARNHART
Kansas City Star

The true test of any awards show host is to ask yourself: Would I like to see this person back here next year? By that measure, Chris Rock's first go-round as host for the Academy Awards was a qualified success.

Within three minutes, though, Rock hit his stride. He delivered a rollicking riff on studio executives who, in their impatience to fill a movie role, settle on the wrong actor. “If you want Russell Crowe and all you can get is Colin Farrell, wait!” he said. “If you want Denzel and all you can get is me, WAIT.”

More:
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/entertainment/special_packages/academy_awards/11010208.htm

[icehenge]

13. Thanks for the follow up articles

[fertilizeonarbusto]

9. Pffffffffffffft

I LOVED those jokes. He painted a picture which Joe Sixpack can understand: if * worked at the Gap he'd be fired AND arrested.

[El Fuego]

10. Ha! That was the best part of the whole show!

I loved the fact that Bush was being bashed LIVE on network TV, and "they" couldn't do anything about it. It was like Hollywood Strikes Back. For one night, it was fuck their propaganda and loyalty oaths.

With all the MSM under corporate (meaning GOP) control, it was good to see someone on our side break through, have their say, and be seen by millions.

[NC_Nurse]

12. If Bush was a good... or even mediocre

president, this wouldn't hurt you so bad. Oh well, tough shit! }(

[MojoXN]

14. Well, whatta ya know?

An uncle of mine used to live in Brentwood, and to be perfectly honest, I'm surprised that they only went 70% Republican. We're talkin' about some rich-ass motherfuckers, y'know the type with three or four high-end foreign cars in the driveway, and a few more in the five car garage. Seven and eight bedroom mansions with gazebos and guesthouses and gates, oh my. Servents and maids and personal chefs, trainers, etc. Very few of the kids go to public schools. (We wouldn't want such upstanding young white folks to be mixing with the "darkies" or "beaners" now would we?) The very epitome of conscious opulence. Absurd, if'n you t'were t'ask me. But, useful backgfround information into the mindset of a veritable orgy of Bushyism in one concentrated locale. Excuse me while I choke this bile down... Urp!

MojoXN

[LynneSin]

15. Wait, anyone who is a fan of Chris Rock knows he has been against Bush

Obviously these idiots have never watched Chris Rock's stand-up comedy routines because the last one he did (first aired on HBO) definately was peppered with anti-Bush sentiment. So these so-called "Chris Rock" fans just figured it out?

Never knew there was such a fan base for Pootie Tang in Tennessee

:eyes:

[otohara]

16. Chris Rock Realy Cares What

white, republican Brentwood thinks!

[TexasLawyer]

17. waaahhhhhhhh

somebody call a waaahhhm-bulance!

[bush_is_wacko]

18. Anyone that was a HUGE fan of Chris Rock would have expected

far more bush comments at the Oscars! I am a fan and Chris Rock has ALWAYS dished out out where bush is concerned. Apparently his HUGE fan must have missed all those bush jokes over the years!

[mattclearing]

19. What huge Chris Rock fan isn't aware of his opinion of Bush?

I declare Bushit.

John Gorham, you, good sir, are full of shit.