Chris Rock: Selective Outrage

 

Chris Rock's Netflix special Selective Outrage (originally streamed live Saturday) showcases the comedian's familiar brand of edgy, profanity-laced observational humor that has made him a highly valued entertainer and a very wealthy man.

What has changed since his last standup special in 2018 is the Oscar moment from last year, when actor Will Smith slapped him after Rock delivered a line about Jada Pinkett Smith's close-cropped hair. Yes, Rock riffs on the incident, labeling Smith's attack as an example of "selective outrage." It's a fair and pointed moment of release in a Rock performance that lands more often than it misses.

For me, Rock's strongest material has always been when he turned his incisive gaze at attitudes and behaviors within the Black community -- his riff on the difference between n***ers and Black people from the "Bring the Pain" show is classic.

Family intrigues, sexual politics and male / female relations are common go-to material for Rock, but he's most potent when pulling the rug out from under his audience -- as he does with his remarks about "wokeness" and victimhood.

His material about abortions was incendiary and no doubt designed to push the reflexive pro-choicers into a space anti-abortioners think their opponents already live. I don't know if the experiment was successful but it led into some nice material about his relationship with his daughters.

Chris Rock is almost 60. He's an award-winning actor and producer, who doesn't lack for work. Some set his estimated net worth at $60 million. His brand won't be hurt by the unevenness of Selective Outrage and his venting about The Slap was probably as cathartic for his fans as it was for the man himself.