"Everybody Hates Chris," except me, that is...

dee.reid

score 10/10

I'm just going to get this out of the way: comedian Chris Rock is probably my favorite comedian of all time. When I was 14 in 1999 and although my mother was initially against it, she eventually caved and let me buy Chris Rock's hit comedy album "Bigger & Blacker," and it's probably my favorite spoken-word/comedy album. When I heard that Rock was going to be behind a semi-autobiographical show about his early life growing up in Brooklyn, New York, I got all giddy with excitement.

Somehow or another, I watched the first episode of "Everybody Hates Chris" when it first debuted, and I immediately thought it was hilarious, and then somehow or another I never watched another episode for five years. Recently I've been continually watching re-runs of the show on various different cable stations (BET, Nickleodeon, UPN 20) and I have no idea why I never watched this show again after its 2005 debut.

Rock narrates "Everybody Hates Chris" and co-created it with Ali LeRoi, which is centered around his childhood growing up in Brooklyn in the mid-1980s with father Julius (Terry Crews), mother Rochelle (Tichina Arnold), younger brother Drew (Tequan Richmond), and younger sister Tanya (Imani Hakim). As a teenager (played by Tyler James Williams), Chris is the only black student at Corleone Junior High School and is also its most hated student. His daily quest for survival at Corleone includes having to deal with racist bullies, culturally illiterate teachers, and an ineffective administration. His only friend is a nerdy classmate named Greg (Vincent Martella). Hilarity quickly ensues.

"Everybody Hates Chris" is an entertaining and funny show that manages to be both incredibly funny and have some valuable life lessons about growing up. But one of the great things about watching the show is that it manages to maintain a balance in being suitable entertainment for both children and adults. Rock's narration is also quite biting, smart, funny, and instantly reminds fans of his usual stand-up routine and why he was once proclaimed the "funniest man in America."

The show doesn't just fall on Chris, though. All of the supporting characters are given their own time and place in every episode to shine. Many of the supporting actors are well-chosen and are quite colorful themselves and provide many of the show's best and most additional laughs. A lot of today's shows don't really have that anymore.

"Everybody Hates Chris" is one of the funniest shows on television right now. And now you know why Everybody LOVES Chris.

10/10

dee.reid 18 April 2010

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2237946/