“Everybody Hates Chris” — Everybody Hates DJs
I’ve been watching Everybody Hates Chris all season, and yet for some inexplicable reason haven’t been writing about it or talking about with friends. No wonder the show is drawing viewers in the dozens. Let’s try to correct that.
Last night’s episode was yet another solid one. The basic premise being Chris gets hired to DJ a party after doing a good job filling in for a DJ who was just arrested. People who like to say the phrase, “That would never happen!” probably should stick with CBS on Monday nights. Luckily I rarely find myself asking questions like, “What on earth was Chris doing at a dance club anyway? Isn’t he, like 14? Everyone else was in their 20s.” Yes, not asking questions like that makes watching almost all filmed entertainment a little more relaxing.
The best jokes in the episode revolved around the notion that in 1984 the suburban white kids found hip-hop utterly confusing. When Chris tells his friend Greg that he needs a copy of James Browns “The Payback” to mix at the party, Greg replies, “It’s all ready a good song, why do you have to remix it?” To which Chris replies, “I have to rock the party.” So true. So very true.
The performances on the show, especially Terry Crews and Tichina Arnold as Chris’ parents, are top-notch. Each has these delightful little ticks — specifically Crews’ trademark “shocked reaction to overspending.” It’s this wide-eyed kind of lurch that has become the embodiment of Julius Rock. Everything else the character does seems to be placed in and around that physical reaction.
Watch “Everybody Hates DJs” at CWTV.com
Listen to part of James Brown’s “The Payback”
