MENCIA, a poor man's Dave Chappelle, produces some very funny moments on racial issues in America -- plus a lot of filler. When this stand-up comic hits it right, there is no funnier TV host. But all too often, he can be seen straining for laughs. Of course, the real joke is that this "Beaner" can get away with all the Beaner jokes he wants. Imagine a white man delivering these ethnic put-downs; he'd have to wear a white hood and robe. Mencia makes fun of his own, and everyone else, and it is somehow acceptable because he is not white. And he gives the camera a look of incredulity after each punchline that is priceless. It's just too bad he doesn't have better writers. His routines get repetitious all too quickly.
Review of Mind of Mencia
