Good Hair - Chris Rock interview

CHRIS Rock talks about the inspiration behind his new documentary, Good Hair, fatherhood and his admiration for Ricky Gervais.  He also talks about his next documentary on debt and some of his experiences of doing stand-up… He was speaking at a UK round table...

Q. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your documentary Good Hair?
Chris Rock: Well, one of my daughters was having a little hair issue and I just felt like doing a documentary on hair. It’s a fascinating topic. I try to address it as a journalist, not as a comedian. I’m an investigative reporter on black women and their hair! I tried to handle it with respect and kid gloves and not make fun of people. I’ve always been a Michael Moore fan and I always wish that more people would do that stuff… like Morgan Spurlock with Supersize Me. There’s never a black guy to do something like that, so…

Q. Do you feel that you were only able to make it because of your status, as it were?
Chris Rock: You know what, who knows how long you’re going to be hot, or big, or whatever you want to call it. I had an opportunity to make… not just movies that people – cop movies, or normal movies. I also have an opportunity to do things that other entertainers, or other comedians haven’t been able to do, and other black comedians haven’t been able to do. So, I feel I should take advantage of that before I’m on The Apprentice or something. While it’s working out for me, I want to be able to say I’ve tried a lot of stuff.

Q. Are you also working on a documentary about debt?
Chris Rock: Yeah, I’m doing Credit’s the Devil. Debt is funny. It’s sad. We’re addicted to spending money – the whole world is addicted to spending money. I call it ‘shopper-tainment’. You used to go on a Sunday drive with your family and look at stuff and maybe get an ice-cream cone. Now, you go and shop and you have to spend money. We have an economic crisis and a lot of people are doing bad because they’ve lost their jobs or something. But then there’s a whole lot of other people who are doing bad just because they spent too much money… plain and simple. If they’d just lived to their means, they’d be fine.

Q. Do you find you’re using these documentaries as a kind of counterpoint to doing comedies?
Chris Rock: Well, when you see the documentaries, they’re funny. Good Hair is hysterical. If you see Good Hair with an audience, it’s as funny as Death At A Funeral. But it’s like Michael Moore. I talked to Michael Moore, I asked him questions, I’m totally influenced by the guy. I play it more in the middle. Michael has an agenda when you watch his stuff – you know what side he’s on. But you don’t know what side I’m on. I don’t judge people. I don’t think it’s my right to judge people. I have a right to be curious about people… but I don’t think I have a right to judge anybody. If you see the documentary, it’s the funniest movie I’ve made.

Q. In terms of hair, would you let your daughters relax their own hair when they’re older?
Chris Rock: When they’re older you’ve got no choice; you have no say in their hair when they’re older. While they’re young, they will not be relaxing their hair! But what are you going to tell a teenager? They’ve got to learn.

Q. Do you have an age?
Chris Rock: When they’re 13 or whatever. I mean, what can an old man tell a young girl about her hair? I’ll educate them! I’ll show them good hair. And hopefully they’ll be educated enough to make an educated choice about what to do with their hair.

Q. They haven’t seen the documentary already?
Chris Rock: My daughters are six and eight… docs and kids, you know… The older one might be ready for Good Hair. She’s kind of a weird kid [smiles adoringly]. She likes escargot!

Q. Are they funny kids?
Chris Rock: Yeah, they crack me up! They’d bore you to death!

Q. What other stand-up comedians do you admire at the moment?
Chris Rock: I’m really stuck on Ricky Gervais. Have you seen his new show? Ooh, it’s great man! I saw him in New York about two or three weeks ago and it was amazing. It was the funniest thing I’d seen in years. And really, really innovative. I guess he’s playing here in September. I’m going to come back and see it because I want to see him in his own element, with his people.

Q. He’s had a few critics knock some of the topics on this tour. But he’s always said he won’t censor his comedy… do you self-censor?
Chris Rock: Not really. The audience will do it for you. They’ll let you know. Plus, I always look at the show. It’s not joke to joke – it’s a complete show, and when I do one I want people to feel all sorts of emotions. I want them to laugh, I want them to think… I don’t think I’ve ever done a show where people didn’t boo at some point. Even if it’s a little boo… I’ll say stuff and they’ll give a little boo but it adds to the show. 

There’s nothing like having people… throw a topic out there, upsetting people, and then you bring it back and they go: “Oooh, OK, that’s what he meant by that! I thought he was really against us! But he’s for us! That bastard!” So, you have to keep stuff in. But a show like that is much better than laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh. You’ve got to feel a bunch of emotions.

Q. Do you think it’s become more difficult to find those topics?
Chris Rock: It never ends, man. It’s like you guys… you’re just reporting on the world. If there are less things to report on, there’s always something to put in the paper.

Q. Do your kids have a concept of what you do for a living?
Chris Rock: Yeah, they know daddy does jokes. That’s the first word I taught them, “jokes”. What does daddy do? “Jokes!” [Laughs]

Q. And if they wanted to follow in your footsteps, would you be happy?
Chris Rock: No, I would not be happy. I mean, if they get an education and they learn a skill doing something else, and then wanted to do it – then yes. If they think I’m good, that’s great. But a lot of this is luck. I’m no fool to think that luck wasn’t involved. There were a lot of things I had no control over. Like: “Oooh, I live in New York!” But that’s luck. I didn’t choose to live there… my parents just happened to live there. I want my kids to have real skills that could last in the real world because if I wasn’t a comedian I might be a bus boy right now. 

Good Hair opens in UK cinemas on June 25, 2010.