I have a short list: Will Ferrell, Steve Carrell, Bill Murray, Allen Iverson and of course Dave Chappelle. These are guys who are just effortlessly, and sometimes unintentionally, hilarious. Guys who could read the White Pages and have me in hysterics.

Indeed, some of the funniest moments in Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, the new flick documenting the Comedy Central funnyman’s Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn bash, are when Chappelle’s got his guard down – when he’s chilling with his celebrity friends or simply buying a new suit (watch as he stands in front of a mirror with a pimp’s porkpie hat on, deadpanning the line, “I want my goddamn money, bitch!”).

But it’s hard to imagine Chappelle out of his element. He’s as natural on stage as he is when he doesn’t seem to know the cameras are rolling. And anyone who’s seen “The World Series of Dice,” Roots outtakes or “The Black President” skits on Chappelle’s Show can attest to his comedic genius in the realm of sketch comedy.

Yet it became easier to imagine Chappelle as insecure when he mysteriously bolted to Durban, South Africa, last year, jetting away from a $50 million TV deal. Block Party, at the very least, sheds some light on the enigmatic comedian.

The opening scenes find Chappelle in September 2004 wandering the streets of Dayton, Ohio, offering folks Willy Wonka-style golden tickets to attend his then-three-day-away New York City concert.

He finds an eclectic group – two enthusiastic black high school students, an entire college marching band and an elderly white female shopkeeper (“Bring your Timberlands, Miss Hall”), just to name a few.

Word of mouth spreads fast, and 3,000 people end up attending the jamboree, though few, if any, know the amazing lineup of performers Chappelle has wrangled up. With the Roots operating as the house band, Kanye West, Common, Mos Def, Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Big Daddy Kane, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott take the stage to the increasing delight of the crowd.

Though Mos Def delights throughout the entire film, both with brilliant musical performances and as Chappelle’s comic sidekick, the best early performance has to belong to West, who kicks things off with an amazing rendition of “Jesus Walks” that includes the backup vocals of John Legend and percussion and horns by the aforementioned Central State University marching band.

Look closely: I said the best early performance. That’s because there’s no doubt the musical climax of the show comes when, for the first time in seven years, The Fugees reunite for a stirring version of “Killing Me Softly” (Lauryn Hill’s voice is still pitch perfect, Pras’ flow is still some of the most sonically satisfying and Wyclef is still … well … Wyclef).

Much has been made in other articles of Michel Gondry’s (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) graceful and breezy directorial style here. He employs nine cameras and does little more than point and shoot, letting his subjects grab the limelight.

The not-so-obvious story here is that Gondry, though a genius, has been known to botch things in the past (see Kanye West’s overly sentimental “Heard ‘Em Say” video). And though simplicity in a film like this is surely appreciated, let’s not go to too great of lengths to pat the guy on the back.

Instead, the final thing I’ll touch on is probably the most important aspect of the film: its timely racial message. Chappelle takes great strides to recruit the most socially conscious members of the hip-hop world. There’s nary a gun-toting, name-dropping act like The Game or Cam’Ron in the whole bunch.

It all makes sense if you think about it. For every racial joke that comes out of Chappelle’s wiry, thin mouth (one classic: he asserts to ?uestlove that he knew the Washington sniper was black. Why? Because he was taking weekends off.), you can see there is an unstated understanding that if we can laugh about and recognize the absurdity of stereotypes, maybe we can overcome them.

That said, some of the message may be a little too hard to swallow for the casual Chappelle Show fan – some of the realtalk may get a bit too real. Chappelle pontificating on the Dead Prez lyric “Uncle Sam the pusha man” or the son of a prominent Black Panther advocating freeing Mumia Abu-Jamal are things you may not agree with.

But so what?

I contend Brokeback Mountain should be a part of every high school’s curriculum from here on out, even if all that comes out of it is students discussing why they disagree with the film. To hear another person’s viewpoint is a beautiful thing, and hearing rappers and comedians discussing the struggles of underprivileged kids in Brooklyn is something everyone in this country should hear.

At the end of this film Chappelle says it’s the best thing he’s ever done in his career. I agree, and that’s really saying something.

Movie: Dave Chappelle’s Block Party | Verdict: A

Contact reporter Patrick Gavin at gavindbk@gmail.com.